On A Short Leash
by kisa sohma cookie
Summary: I hate summaries XP  anyways, Kaiba wants  Joey to himself body and soul, but to do that, he has to coax the blonde to him in his own badass way.  Add in a crazed yaoi obsessed maid and a supportive Mokuba and you get a heartwarming romantic comedy. enjoy
1. Chapter 1

**Wow, it's been a while since I've written a fan fic. Ever since the whole college thing got really spinning, I sort of lost track of my writing. But anyway, I read a lot of shonen ai and yaoi on fan fiction, but I've never actually written one…till now. Thought I'd give it a try. Also, I've never written a fanfic rated over T before…O/O**

**Kisa: Don't worry, that's why you've got me here (pats my back.)**

**Me: Kisa's the fan fic writing part of my brain, kind of an alter ego I guess. She's mostly beent he one wanting to write the m rated stuff and the lemons.**

**Kisa: Oh come on, you don't complain when you read them do you?**

**Me: O/./O**

**Kisa: If we're done making the readers think your mentally unstable and talk to yourself, shall we get the fic started?**

**Me: yup. Please enjoy the first chapter of "On a short Leash." This fic will contain smut of a sort and people under 18 should not read it.**

**Kisa: Never stopped you..**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh or any of it's characters.**

Seto Kaiba was a patient man. Well, in some cases anyway. When it came to people who constantly prattled about a supposed "heart of the cards", which he found an unnerving prospect as he owned a company specializing in said cards, he found it increasingly harder to bite a snide comment or two back.

However, when it came to long winded schemes, such as his holographic world for dueling, he was very patient (even if he yelled at an employee or two simply to watch them nearly piss their pants at the approach of his glare.) He would wait, quietly working the time away by developing yet another scheme to dive into once the present one was finished.

There was one plan, however that had been going on for some time now. A very special scheme to Kaiba's seemingly ice cold heart.

Kaiba was in love. With someone who hated every ounce of blood giving him life.

Of course, he would never stoop so low as to admit that he was in loved, or even use that wording. It was beneath him. He also would never be so crass as to say that he desperately wanted to "Get in their pants" He could save such blunt sayings to the subject of his slightly twisted affection.

The blonde boy, Joey, who he affectionately (considering it's Kaiba) referred to as 'Mutt', 'dog', 'mongrel', 'stray', 'fleabag', and on special occasions 'Pup.'

These names where not met with loving reciprocation. In fact, they were usually met with some downright nasty but called for names of Joey's own creation such as 'Moneybags' 'Pasty faced bastard' 'shit-face' or the ever popular 'goddamn prick..'

There were very few people who would dare to talk to Seto Kaiba like this. And though he'd treat the insults with the expected huff or cold shoulder, Kaiba allowed it to happen more the once with only one person, an that was hi pup Joey.

After all, a wise man once said the best person to be with is the one who isn't afraid to tell you 'you're being an ass.'

So Kaiba was waiting patiently, continuing this little game of cunning cat and dodging dog until he could be sure he could make his move. He wanted Joey, but he would not resort to rape. He wanted Joey to want him back. He wanted to beckon Joey closer and closer until he could capture his puppy body and soul. It was a long tedious process, but Kaiba could wait. All good things came to those who wait.

"Mr. Kaiba sir.." Kaiba was interrupted from his thoughts, as the limo driver's raspy voice sounded through the radio speakers. A tinted glass screen kept him from being seen on all angles, this included form the driver himself, Seto liked his privacy. Which would prove to be a very good asset before too long…

"What is it?" Kaiba responded coldly,

"Forgive me sir, but is that not one of your class mates?"

Kaiba looked outside. Even without the tinted windows, it didn't take a lot of realize that it was horrible weather outside. The rain pelted down from the heavens so hard, that it bounced back from the pavement and car roof like bullets rebounding from steel. Kaiba couldn't imagine anyone willingly enduring such weather when it was clearly smarter to stay indoors.

Apparently, a certain mutt wasn't perceptive enough for this.

It was indeed Joey Wheeler, walking around, blue uniform drenched beyond comprehension and blonde hair darkened and hanging like a dead animal around Joey's face. A gust of wind blew past him, and Kaiba could practically see the Goosebumps raising on the younger boys skin. At this rate, his puppy was going to catch a cold. And Kaiba would be having none of that, no matter what the cost was to his reputation.

"Pull over." He said curtly through his transceiver, and the driver did so without questioning it. With a boss like Kaiba, it was the best thing for one's own survival.

Joey paused, standing in the wind and freezing rain like it was nothing and raising a curious blonde eyebrow at the white limo pulling up next to him. Was there a mobster in domino he wasn't aware of? Did his dad somehow piss them off, and they were coming after him now?

The window slid down to reveal non other than his rival (in his own mind) Seto Kaiba. Joey's eyes would have popped out of his sockets if his dislike for the boy didn't have them narrowing in a glare matching the brunette's own.

"What d'you want Moneybags?" Joey asked, hands shoved in his pocket in an effort to warm them up.

Kaiba smirked, and Joey felt his temper quickly rising, along with his blood pressure,

"Well, if it isn't Wheeler, the drowned dog. What's the matter? Did your water get cut off in your hovel and you thought you'd take a shower in the nearest thunderstorm?"

Joey grit his teeth, and Kaiba felt a pang of guilt. He didn't necessarily LIKE insulting his beloved puppy, but he also got a major turn on from his feisty personality, especially when he was yelling in anger back at him.

"Fuck you Kaiba, ya stupid prick. What do you care anyway?" Joey spat back, fists clenched at his sides now and dangerously close to a hissy fit.

'More than you can ever know' Kaiba thought for a moment before he made his remark,

"Is that anyway to talk to someone offering you a ride?"

Joey blinked adorably, his anger deflating somewhat, "huh?"

Kaiba opened the door, his gaze on the outside still cold and uncaring, but on the inside boiling with excitement. He could finally do something help his puppy.

"Get in the car Wheeler. You look pathetic."

The anger easily returned after his moment of confusion, and Joey turned on his heel with a scoff, "Yeah right! Like I'd ever get in a car wit you. You'd probably drag me off to some ware house and cut out my liver cause that's just what an ass like you would do!"

Had Kaiba been the normal anime character, he would have sweat dropped. Did Joey think he was some sort of gangster or something?

Joey started walking away, and the car rolled after him, much to his annoyance. Kaiba held the door open even though it was gliding dangerously over the curb,

"You don't seem to understand wheeler. I'm not giving you a choice. We're in the beginnings of a hurricane here moron."

The rain and wind were cold, and Joey could feel it to the bone. He repressed a shiver though with bravery and found the energy to snap back once again at the brunette,

"I don't need yer 'charity' or whatever you call it. I'm perfectly peachy out here. Quit refreshing actually." His fingers were numb.

Kaiba sighed, exasperated with how stubborn his puppy could be. He finally resigned himself that the only way this would be resolved was with a firm hand.

Joey kept his eyes glued to the red cobblestone sidewalk, but startled when he felt something grab the back of his collar and yank, making his feet give way from under him.

"Gah, wha-?"

Next thing Joey knew, he was deposited on the floor of Kaiba's white limo, the door slamming shortly after his feet made it through and the car pulling away from the curb and into the street once again.

"What the fuck Kaiba!" Joey bellowed, making Kaiba infuriatingly put a pinky to his ear to imply he was going deaf, "You can't just go draggin people in yer car against their will dammit! I got rights!"

Kaiba crossed his legs and looked down at Joey superiorly, "I can if it's for their own good, Wheeler. Or would you rather get pneumonia?"

Joey growled in a rather canine like way, which made Kaiba smirk,

"To be honest, I'm not sure which is worse, pneumonia, or being trapped in a car with _you_!"

Kaiba looked out the window. Of course Joey was angry, he had expected him to be.

"Sit down and put your seatbelt on mutt, don't make me get the newspaper out." Kaiba smirked as Joey snarled again. Although the blonde did sit as far on the other side of the limo as he could, taking the opposite side facing Kaiba and the opposite window Kaiba was at. However, Kaiba's long legs were still dangerously close to brushing Joey's feet if he allowed them to stretch far enough. Which Kaiba did, much to Joey's chagrin.

They sat in silence for a few blessed minutes, in which time Kaiba took the liberty of letting his eyes roam over the stray he had picked up. His blonde hair was dripping all over the carpeting, and his clothes clung to each and every muscle. He could tell from the Goosebumps that poor Joey was cold, and knew his teeth were probably chattering but him being the stubborn ass he was wouldn't show it in front of Kaiba. His honey brown eyes glared out of the window, but that was when Kaiba noticed it. A slightly reddening purplish tinge the to the skin around Joey's left eye. It was swelling and made Joey's eye appear as if it where half closed. It looked angry and painful. Kaiba had to resist the urge to reach out and touch it, to offer some sort of comfort or soothing.

Instead, all he could do was aks offhandedly, "Were you in another fight mutt?"

Joey looked startled for a moment and looked at Kaiba confused. Kaiba gestured towards his eye and Joey reached up to feel the wound tenderly, as if he had completely forgotten about it.

"Oh-that-er…"

Kaiba raised an eyebrow. Normally Joey would have no qualms about admitting he was in another fight, because he usually felt he was doing the right thing by defending his friends, or some poor sap who was stupid enough to get tangled with the wrong people. Some would call it righteous or brave, Kaiba just called it stupid. But if Joey was purposefully dodging an answer, it obviously was not normal circumstances.

"I fell."

Kaiba regarded him with a look that said 'Are you freakin kidding me?'

"You **fell.**"

"Yup." Joey nodded as if to confirm it for himself, "down the stairs. Right on my face. That's what happened."

Kaiba snorted, "You're a terrible liar pup. I hope you realize that."

Joey's lips curved downward in nothing that could be otherwise described as a pout.

"Well if you've got a problem with it, then let me out of here!"

The blonde gave the door handle an experimental jiggle. He felt a vein in his temple pulse when he found it was locked by none other than the Kaiba across form him.

"You really think I'd let you jump out of my car at 40 miles an hour? I'd be sued by the people who took pity on your stupid corpse, and I don't need any negative media attention."

"Oh how noble of you." Joey glared at scathingly, and Kaiba smirked in pleasure. He loved it when his puppy was feisty.

Before Joey could demand otherwise of his release, Kaiba leaned back in his seat and toyed with the transceiver, "What's your address, we'll drop you off."

Joey's eyes froze half in fear, half in hesitation. Kaiba didn't like that look on the puppy at all.

"I…Kaiba look I er.."

Kaiba rose an eyebrow as Joey fidgeted under his searching gaze,

"I'm not going home okay? Just drop me off at the arcade or something."

Kaiba stared at him for a moment, then folded his arms, "Your soaked to the bone, and you want me to drop you off somewhere where you can neither warm yourself or change into dry clothes." He looked at the other boy incredulously, "I brought you in here so you could avoid pneumonia mutt, why on earth would I cause myself the trouble of this whole ride if I would just give up like that."

"I'm fine, I'm totally fine now," Joey snarled in defiance, "I ain't telling you my address, so that's the only option you have."

Joey froze again at the look on Kaiba's face. It was that scary smirk that he got when he thought he was finally going to beat Yugi in a duel.

"Not so Mutt…" Kaiba said crossing his arms triumphantly, "You want to play this game with me? Fine. I'll have to take you to my house then. You'll be at Marie's mercy then."

Joey stared bewildered at the rich boy. Who the heck was Marie, and why the fuck was Kaiba so keen on kidnapping him all of a sudden?

**That was a long first chapter, but I'm happy with how it came out. **

**Kisa: No smut yet, but we'll get there. The fluffyness is enough for me for right now.**

**Joey: for the love of god, read and review so Meg can write the next chapter and Kaiba will stop looking at me like that!**

**Kaiba: ( Smirking evilly at Joey..)**


	2. Meet Marie

**Kisa: Sweet! 5 Reviews on only the first chapter! Guess your not so bad at writing yaoi as you thought huh Meg?...Meg?**

**Meg: (sobs) I'm soooo haaaaaaappppyyyyy! You like my story and it's only just started!**

**Kisa: O.O;**

**Meg: (coughs) anyway, I have absolutely no idea how I'm going to proceed with chapter 2, but since it worked so well with chapter 1, I'm just gonna go with my gut and just let my hands write what they want to.**

**Kisa: (taps fingertips together evilly) let the fun begin…**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh, I do however own Marie. She's my own crazy little creation. =^^=**

"Whatta'ya mean yer takin me to yer house! Who the hell is Marie! _Why are you looking at me like that?_" Joey screamed (all in one breath, quite impressive actually) And plastered himself against the side of the car he was sitting on to be as far from Kaiba as he could. Kaiba was smirking at him in a way he had never seen before. It was darker and more sinister than the look he got when he was going to duel Yugi. It told of horrors the young blonde could not begin to comprehend, all heading straight for him in the near future.

The younger boy scrambled against the door handle, hopelessly jiggling it and tugging it as if the lock would suddenly give way. Kaiba chuckled, amused by his puppy's antics to escape.

"You heard me pup. We'll go to the mansion and get you dry clothes. If you're a good boy I'll even get you a dog treat out of the cupboard." Kaiba grinned evilly at the furious look on Joey's face,

"Would you quit it with the dog talk already? I'm not a freakin mutt, im a human being! Much more than I can say about you!"

Kaiba rolled his eyes. If he let petty insults like that get to him he would not have gotten as far as he had today. His lip twitched happily when he saw them pull through the Kaiba mansion gates. He pressed a button on his side of the car, and a large awning folded out of the front of Kaiba mansion. That would keep them form being drenched with rain all over again when they entered. His poor puppy's nose was already turning a raw red with cold.

"Well Wheeler, we're here. Get out." Kaiba glanced to his victim-er-object of interest who looked like he was ready to bolt as soon as the other door opened. Kaiba was careful though, and only unlocked his side. If Joey tried to run when he got out he could easily catch him.

"I aint goin nowhere wit you!" Joey snapped, pressing himself further against the cool glass of the limo. "How the fuck do you think it's okay to KIDNAP me out of the blue like this! You hate me remember?"

Kaiba stared at him for a moment, and just when Joey thought he'd broken through to him,

"Are you coming or what?"

Joey groaned and hid his face in his knees. It went against everything he stood for to take Kaiba's offer to go inside. He hated the guys guts! Or…at least he thought he did. He was always calling him a dog, or good for nothing. But even so, he had helped Yugi and the rest of the gang out a trouble before. When it suited him anyways. Tristan even told him that when he had his soul taken by Dartz, Kaiba had caught him before he could fall off of the other boys back.

Still, Kaiba had to know his strange random act of kindness was going to be met with suspicion.

'_I might not HATE the guy,' _Joey thought to himself in a huff, '_but I sure as hell ain't gonna like him.'_

The blonde blinked when he felt something foreign slide underneath his knees and around his back, lifting him and carrying him out of the car while he was amidst his inner tirade. Kaiba walked past the driver without a second glance, carrying Joey bridal style in his arms to the house. The driver certainly looked confused but once again did not question it.

Joey could not even utter the words to express his anger and confusion. The bastard was CARRYING him like a GIRL into his HOUSE!

"Get the hell off of me you Goddamn prick!" The younger boy flailed, swinging arms and legs wildly to hit something, anything on Kaiba's person. You would think having such a close target would make it easy. This is not so. If anyone's been carried bridal style, you should know it's hard to balance yourself to and use that to swing at who's carrying you. Plus there's the fact that if you DO hit them, they'll probably drop you…

"Easy now pup," Kaiba said softly, "You'll hurt yourself."

Too confused and angry to hear how gentle Kaiba's words were, Joey continued to squirm in his arms until he was placed dumped on the floor upon entering the mansion. Hey, one step at a time, Kaiba still needed to assure Joey that he wasn't completely insane.

"Oof- what the hell man?" Joey glared up at him, rubbing his backside ruefully.

Kaiba ignored his complaints and turned the the security guard stationed at the fornt door.

"Send Marie into the second floor bathroom, in my wing. Tell her I have a project for her."

The guard bowed and walked away all soldier like. Joey liked to refer to it as 'Walking like a pole was shoved up your ass." Kaiba called it walking with proper posture.

The blonde picked himself up off the ground, and took a look around at his current surroundings. He felt his jaw drop.

As much as he hated to admit it, Kaiba had some pretty nice digs here. There was a large staircase leading straight to the second floor, and Joey briefly thought to himself 'what I wouldn't give to slide on a cookie sheet down THAT thing..'

Fancy art decorated the walls of rich cream color, the carpeting a deep red. A large crystal chandelier however hung above them. It's thousands of tiny prisms sparkled in the warm lighting, but the sharp glass point glared ominously down at them.

"Stop gawking Wheeler, you look even more idiotic than usual." Kaiba said, suddenly grabbing joey by the wrist roughly and dragging him towards the stairs. Joey gave the chandelier a nervous look as they passed under it, but once the danger was gone, his anger kicked in once again.

"Where the hell are ya takin me now?" he shouted incredulously, the eldest Kaiba had a vice like grip, and no matter how much Joey tugged against it would not release.

Kaiba once again ignored him, and continued to lead the blonde puppy down a series of hallways until they reached a large oak door. Kaiba pushed through it as if it could have been normal plastic, and let Joey gape once again at the incredible bathroom in front of him.

Kaiba smirked when the pup's eyes (well the undamaged one anyway..) once again turned to the size of dinner plates. The bathtub was at least ten feet long and 5 feet wide, the pearl white tile shining in the bright light invitingly. Oh yes, Seto imagined they'd be spending a lot of time together in there once things got started.

There was a plethora of warm fluffy towels hanging on the wall, organized form small washcloths to large body sized towels. Kaiba grabbed one of the medium sized ones when he turned to find the puppy missing from the spot Kaiba had left him.

The CEO was afraid that Joey had tried to run again, when he saw the glass capsule like door of the shower close around the mutt. It was one of those showers that had purposefully fogged glass, and a around cylinder shape. Which explained why the blonde boy did the following…

"Beam me up Scotty!" Joey shouted, pumping a fist in the air as if he were about to take flight.

Kaiba stared at him like he was absolutely mad when the pup sheepishly climbed out of the shower a moment later.

"Heh, couldn't resist." Joey said absently, rubbing the back of his neck. It was almost as if he had forgotten just who he was talking to. His cheeky little grin made Kaiba's stomach do back-flips.

On the outside though, Kaiba gave an irritated sigh, and without another word engulfed Jeoy's head in the towel and ruffled it around.

"Ow- hey-that –hurts dammit!" Joey's slightly muffled voice came form beneath he fluffy towel. While his eyes were blocked form view, Kaiba gave himself the luxury of giving the little pup a fond smile, before he replaced it once again with his cold scowl, and stopped his tousling for a moment. Joey pulled his head up with a gasp for air, and glared at the CEO.

"I can dry off my own hair if ya don't mind, prick!" He snapped, and Kaiba smirked.

"Really? Because it looked like you were more keen on playing around than actually taking care of what I actually brought you over here for."

Joey's cheeks flushed a little in embarrassment, and he touched the towel on his head. It really was soft, and warm, like it had just come out of the dryer. He subconsciously held it up to his left cheek, so It brushed against his injured eye gently. It was a soothing touch, and made it feel better.

The only thing that bugged him about this, was WHY Kaiba was letting him touch the towel, and WHY he let him come into his home..

"What are ya doin this to me for huh?" Joey asked quietly, glaring at the wall because Kaiba's smug looking face pissed him off.

Kaiba's face, however, wasn't so smug at the moment. More like thoughtful.

'It _isn't part of the plan but..._' Kaiba thought to himself '_maybe I could give him a hint. Knowing the puppy we could be at this game forever otherwise_.'

Slowly, so as not to alarm Joey, Kaiba reached out a steady hand. Joeys attention was focused in another direction, so Kaiba was able to brush his fingertips against a blonde lock of hair hanging in front of the bruised skin of joeys left eye. Joey twitched in surprise, but to Kaiba's astonishment, didn't pull away when said CEO pushed the hair behind the puppy's ear, and let his fingers trail against the wound. So lightly it almost tickled the sensitive skin.

Joey winced at the feeling, but found that it was not altogether a bad feeling. In fact it felt sort of…nice. For a split second, Kaiba felt his heart stop when it looked like Joey was going to lean into his touch.

That was when the spell broke on Joey with a rather rude snap, and he realized just what he was doing. He scrambled away from Kaiba with a scandalized look on his face,

"W-what the hell Kaiba?" He seemed to be asking him that a lot lately.

However, Kaiba didn't have a chance to explain, when I overjoyed high pitched squeal erupted from the entrance to the bathroom.

Both boys turned to see a young woman, probably in her mid twenties, with magenta colored hair cut just above the shoulders. She was wearing a modest looking maids uniform, ending just above the shins, but her white sleeves puffed a little at the shoulders. It looked like something out of a shoujo manga.

"Oh please, don't mind me you two, go on, go on!" she chirped, making a 'go' motion with one hand while the other held her pleasantly flushing face.

Kaiba felt his composure slip for just a split second 'Shit, she wasn't supposed to see that yet!' However, he shook himself out of his surprise. If the puppy saw him nervous, he would no doubt become uneasy again himself. He needed to appear in control at all times.

Besides, perhaps having an ally would have it's uses.

"Wheeler, this is Marie. My head Maid." He gestured towards the chipper woman, and started to walk past her, leaving Joey, completely bewildered, at her mercy.

"Marie, help the mutt find something suitable to wear until we can get his clothes dry. And do something about his hair too. Just because he lives like a mutt, doesn't mean I'll let him appear like one at _my _dinner table."

"Yessir Master Kaiba sir!" Marie saluted happily, practically bouncing in place, while Joey glared daggers at Seto's retreating back. He didn't need some weirdo maid's help getting dressed. Although finding the rooms where the clothes were could be helpful…

Once Kaiba was gone, Marie squealed again and bolted for Joey, enveloping him in a hug, and spinning him around in a hyperactive circle,

"Oh my god! I always thought maybe it was possible that he was, but I never thought he'd have one of his own!" She cried out, while Joey helplessly tried to pry her arms form around him.

"What the heck are you talking about, lady" the blonde gasped with difficulty. She seemed nice enough, but GEEZ.

Marie stopped spinning him and held him at arms length, looking at him with something close to pride,

"You're Seto Kaiba's little uke!"

Joey continued to stare at her blankly as she pranced around the room, babbling to herself of how perfect they were, and how cute it would be if they did this. Just what did she mean by him being Kaiba's 'receiver', what the hell was that supposed to mean?

"Oh, im truly so happy for you!" Marie clasped his hands in hers, and Joey nervously leaned back as her eyes literally sparkled at him, "Having a seme like Kaiba, you are truly a lucky young man!"

Kaiba, an 'attacker', huh, well at least that sounded about right.

"Look, I don't know what your going on about, crazy lady," Joey started awkwardly, "but I appreciate the concern I guess." She _seemed_ like a nice girl, and it _appeared_ as though her heart was in the right place…

Marie paused and suddenly a cat like grin crept on her face, and she snickered.

"Ahhh, I see how it is," she patted him on the shoulder consolingly, "Still just a tadpole, not quite a frog yet huh? Well don't you worry sweetie, if you have any questions, just come ask me kay? I wanna help, honestly I do!" Joey gave her a nervous look when her eyes once again gave a dangerous glint.

Yes, Marie's heart was definitely in the right place. She was just out of her freakin mind.

Before Joey could put any more thought in this statement, however, Marie had grabbed him by the hand and was leading him out of the bathroom at mock 2 speed. Next thing he knew, he was in another large room, with a four poster bed beckoning him with warm blankets and super soft pillows to curl up on. He turned away though, and watched bored while Marie literally tossed a number of clothes out of a walk-in closet full of suits, and managed to work her way in all the way to the back.

"Nope, too big….Out of date…too dark…too light…too casual…" Marie murmured to herself, while she searched for the perfect out fit for her knew 'charge'

Joey sighed exasperatedly, and decided the best thing he could do at the moment was let her get on with it and just rest his legs. Women, even when they were getting others ready they took forever..

He sat on a leather love seat, propping his legs up on the expensive coffee table just to spite Kaiba. Served the bastard right for kidnapping him. Making him endure fluffy towels. Making him get dressed in nice warm clothes, even though he was perfectly content with shivering in the developing chill he was getting. Probably was gonna force 4 star food down his throat too. Just wait until he told the police….

…Even in Joey's head It sounded ridiculous.

He gave a frustrated groan and let his head fall back on the head rest of the love seat. Kaiba had him trapped, no doubt about it. No matter how hard he tried to explain, it would appear as if Kaiba had taken Joey in for his own good and kept exceptionally good care of him. Compared to what his own father anyway.

At the thought of the older wheeler, Joey placed a hand over his eye. The vision had gone blurry in that eye hours ago, but that usually happened with a black eye. It would get better in time. All he was worried about was how Yugi and the rest of the gang would take it.

"AHA!"

Marie's sudden outburst of triumph made Joey jump, and he blinked when the woman came rushing out of the closet, thrusting the outfit into his arms and pulling him off of his seat.

"Perfect perfect perfect! Go try it on, I'll be out here if you need help!"

Without waiting for a reply, she shoved him into the walk in closet, which he discovered had a full-length mirror inside, and audibly clapped her hands in excited glee.

Joey glanced at his reflection ruefully,

"How da heck do we get mixed up in stuff like this huh?" He asked himself, before shaking his head and pulling the outfit on him.

Marie squealed for the umpteenth time that day when he emerged. "Oh you look so handsome! reat work Marie!" she gave herself a little pat on the back.

Joey looked down at himself dully. He was wearing tan corduroy pants with a white button up shirt and a red blazer. A black tie was supposed the complete the look but it was draped around his neck. He had never really learned how to tie one, and he scratched the back of his neck embarrassed.

Marie didn't comment on it however, because she stepped forward before Joey could even asked and started tying it for him, smoothing out the creases in his jacket as she went.

"..I really am glad you're here Mr. Wheeler."

"Just Joey," Joey said with a wince, "Mr. Wheeler's my pops."

She smiled up at him, "Joey then. Like I said, I really am grateful hat you're here."

Joey chuckled, scratching at his nose idly, "Well y'know, I'm not here of my own free will. Yer boss kinda kidnapped me."

"Even so." Marie added softly, finally pulling the tie firmly but not enough so it would choke the poor boy, "I think Master Kaiba needs you more than even he knows…"

Joey blinked down at her, confused, "eh?"

Marie shook her head though, once again an enigma, "Mm, nothing! I'll wash and dry your clothes while your eating. I bring you down to the dining room before I go."

And once again, Joey was dragged behind the whirlwind that was the head maid, and deposited in front of yet another pair of giant oak doors.

She gave him a little push in the back, offering him a friendly smile, "Off you go then!"

With that, she skipped off to hell knows where in the gigantic house.

Joey took a deep breath, oddly exhausted after only being with the girl for 10 minutes. He gave the doors in front of him a calculating look before finally he summoned his courage and pushed them open.

**I'm surprised with myself, I'm not normally so satisfied with two chapters in a row. Maybe I've just been getting writing build up. Anyways, hope you enjoyed the second chapter!**

**Kisa: (grins) we're slowly working our way up to the good stuff (cackles)**

**Me: O.O;**

**Joey: And we're introducing Marie, 'parently she's gonna play a big part in the story, so we hope ya like her. Say g'bye Marie, (waves Maries hand for her.)**

**Marie: G'bye Marie!**

**Seto: Read and review, or I wont sexually harass Joey in the next chapter!**


	3. The Bet

**Hi everyone! Thanks to all of you that reviewed, I really appreciate it. Also, I owe you an apology, one of you pointed out to me that I missed a few spelling errors, I'm really sorry! (bows apologetically)**

**Kisa: Hey, its not your fault your laptop's a piece of-**

**Me: Anyway, sometimes my laptop likes to disregard some of the corrections I make. Like in chapter one, I noticed a mistake that I know for sure I fixed and saved on my laptop. So I'll do my best to catch them all, but there might be some I miss.**

**Kisa: she also has an issue with the word 'from' it always ends up as 'form' so if we miss a couple of those, we apologize for that too. Just a victim of habit unfortunately. **

**Me: If any of you future Bill Gates's out there wanna make a spell-check that checks mistakes for context, that would probably solve the problem too! ^^**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh, but I do own a cute chibi picture of Kaiba (drools)**

Joey gave an exasperated groan, and let himself fall back onto the fluffy pillows underneath him. It was currently 9 o'clock at night, and truthfully the young blonde should have been home hours ago. And if it had been left up to him, he would have been.

But damn Kaiba was determined to make his life even more difficult than it already was.

_Earlier at dinner_

Kaiba tried not to smile. His old clothes drowned Joey, making him look even cuter than he usually did. Especially when he entered the dining room, blinking in curiosity with his big honey colored eyes of his. The outfit suited him, and would have looked very dashing if it didn't look like it was going to droop off of him. (not that Kaiba would necessarily have a problem if all the clothes dropped off of the blonde.)

Kaiba felt his stomach give another back flip when Joey turned to face him, but he made sure evidence of this could not be seen on the outside,

"You're late Wheeler."

Joey scratched the back of his neck, "Yeah well, Marie took a while picking out something."

Kaiba smirked, it was almost like Joey was admitting he needed help finding dressy clothes for dinner. Joey shook his head when he too realized this,

"Anyway, I shouldn't have changed clothes at all! Why do I gotta eat with ya?"

Kaiba glared, and kicked a chair so it jutted out invitingly for the blonde.

"You could try saying thank you Mutt," Kaiba started, folding his hands in front of his chin, "I doubt you have had food like this in your entire lifetime, nor the offer I'm thinking about making."

Joey blinked as he reluctantly took a seat to the side of Kaiba. What did the CEO mean by that, what offer. Whatever it was, it couldn't mean anything good.

The younger boy glared down at the polished wood of the table, kicking his legs restlessly. Being this close to Kaiba for an extended amount of time made him uncomfortable. He felt like he needed to be on guard 24/7. Considering Kaiba's eventual intentions with the blonde, it was probably best that he was. But I digress.

Both teens turned when they heard the creak of a door,

"Hey Seto! What's fo-" Mokuba froze upon entry when he saw Joey, a well dressed Joey no less, sitting next to his brother.

"Uh."

Joey suddenly saw a light at the end of the tunnel,

"Mo, thank god you're here!" Joey leaped out of his seat and grabbed Mokuba by the shoulders, shaking the young boy back and forth,

"You gotta get me outta here Bud, your brothers gone nuts! He kidnapped me and is making me eat food, which he probably poisoned! Ya gotta save me Mo!" Joey cried out in desperation, when he felt a steady hand land on his shoulder, and he felt a cold chill run down his back.

"Kindly release my brother, Wheeler, your embarrassing yourself." Seto said impatiently, prying Joeys hands away from Mokuba so the black haired boy could dizzily make his way to his seat.

Joey flinched away from his touch and ran around the table to get away from the elder Kaiba, taking his seat once again so Kaiba wouldn't pursue.

Seeing that His brother was no longer in danger of getting brain damage with all the shaking, Kaiba took his seat again too.

Mokuba, having recovered finally shook the final few stars form his vision and looked at his brother curiously,

"Is what Joey said true Seto? Did you really kidnap him?"

Kaiba folded his arms crossly, and gave a warning look to Joey before the blonde could say anymore,

"The Mutt was running around in the hurricane an hour ago, I found him on my way home and decided, out of the goodness of my heart, to pick him up. He was half drowned in rain when I did."

"I was no-! Joey started but Kaiba once again cut him off,

"I know how fond you seem to be of Yugi's little group Mokuba, so I knew if the Mutt caught pneumonia I would be hearing about it form you. Really, I was saving everybody a lot of time."

Mokuba blinked and stared at his older brother questioningly, while Seto gazed back. True, he had never told Mokuba of his feelings for the blonde, but the boy was sharp for his age. He had probably already figured it out, what with the countless times Kaiba went out of his way to insult/gain attention from Joey. Mokuba gave a slight incline of the head to show he had indeed understood what all of this meant.

Seto was finally on the move.

Mokuba coughed a little, to hide his happy little smile, then wiped it clean from his face and looked back at the disgruntled blonde,

"Joey, what were you thinking, running around in a storm? You could have been killed, much less gotten sick!"

Joey scowled at the nearest wall, seeing that his plan of pitting the Kaiba brothers against each other didn't work, Dammit, he had been so close to escape!

"Just went for a walk is all." He grumbled.

Both brothers gave him an exasperated look, and Joey could think of nothing else to do but stick his tongue out at them,

They however, didn't have the chance to comment on it, because dinner was then served.

He would never admit it out loud, but Kaiba was right. Joey had never seen food like this before, let alone tasted it. However, his comment on poison before made him look at Kaiba suspiciously and he poked at his steak experimentally.

"Eat Mutt," Kaiba said threateningly, "Before I decide to make you eat on the floor, like a real dog."

Joey pounded a fist on the table angrily and opened his mouth to retort, when he felt something block of his nose, and he gasped for air. A second later, something was shoved into his mouth.

Joey glared at Kaiba, who was currently force feeding him a glazed carrot. He considered for a moment spitting it back out at him half chewed, when he felt his taste buds give a joyful little jolt.

It was the best damn carrot he'd ever had.

The need for air overpowered his desire to savor the carrot, and he swallowed with difficulty. Kaiba let go of his nose and leaned back in his chair, smirking while Joey gasped for air.

"You trying to kill me?" Joey screeched, making Mokuba snort over his mashed potatoes.

"Well, you know it isn't poisoned now, don't you." Kaiba said simply, going back to his own meal.

Joey glared at him, but grudgingly started in on his own meal. He raved about it in his head, but tried to keep a sullen expression on his face.

Kaiba, however, could see the honey colored orbs brighten with each bite, and he felt happy that his puppy could enjoy something. There was no doubt in his mind that Joey wasn't used to such decadent food.

They ate while Mokuba chattered on about his day at school, until an hour later, when Marie came in bearing a package under her arm, and a large chocolate cake on a platter in her hands.

"I brought Desert, oh, and here's your clothes Joey!" She handed Joey the paper bag she was carrying under her arm. He could feel the warmth from the dryer seep through the bag.

"I also took the liberty of mending you back pocket, there was a huge hole in it, "she added smiling, and Joey gave her one of his own,

"Thanks, I appreciate it I guess."

Marie gave a secret wink to Kaiba, and he nodded at her.

Marie traveled across the table and cut a large slab off the cake, giving it to Mokuba.

"Hey Master Mokuba, why don't you go eat your desert in your room," she suggested with a sly grin.

Mokuba gave her a confused look, "Huh? But you never let me-"

Suddenly Marie's face took a much darker look, and she appeared almost like a monster,

"_**Go eat in your roooom.**_" She hissed threateningly, and Mokuba leaped up from the table,

"Hey! I think I'll go eat in my room!" He laughed nervously, and scurried out the door and as far away from his maid as he could.

Marie cut another piece of cake cheerfully, unaware of the terrified look Joey gave her, and gave another gleeful giggle as she backed out of the door,

"Take your time now you two." She said suggestively, before closing the door.

Joey turned to raise an eyebrow at Kaiba, "Marie. What's her-?"

"She's an otaku." Kaiba said as if this explained everything.

"Ah." And apparently it did.

Toying with his chocolate Cake, Joey finally organized his thoughts enough to glare at Kaiba calmly,

"Alright, Moneybags. I've gone along with this until now,"

"Barely." Kaiba added

"And I wanna know _now_ just what your deal is!" Joey demanded, taking a large bite out of his cake.

Kaiba gave him a calculating look, before finally he leaned back in his chair with his arms crossed,

"I suppose I should tell you, first of all, that my security has informed me that due to the hurricane, the roads have been closed, as well as school tomorrow."

"Eh?" Joey gasped. No school was great, but no roads meant he couldn't get a ride home.

"No problem, I'll just…uh.." Kaiba's look warned Joey that if he was about o say 'walk' he'd beat the living ever loving crap out of him. So there went that plan.

"Don't tell me I'm stuck here!" Joey screamed, and Kaiba once again made a gesture like he was going deaf.

"Fine then I wont, but that's the reality of the situation wheeler."

Joey slumped back in his seat, feeling defeated. He couldn't get out of here, he was trapped overnight with his worst enemy. This day, official, sucked.

Joey shook himself out of his depression, however, and stared at Kaiba, "But you hate me! Why would you offer me a place to stay? Why are you bein….nice?" Joey struggled to find the right words.

Kaiba stared at him so intensely it made Joey fidget in his seat. It felt like those blue eyes were looking straight through to his soul. Finally the brunette looked away haughtily,

"That's for me to know, and for you to figure out ,Pup." He said, and Joey growled in frustration.

Kaiba smirked, looking at Joey again, "Easy, Mutt. I didn't say I wouldn't give you help."

Joey blinked again, anger deflating like it had in the car that afternoon, "Wha?"

Kaiba leaned forward in his seat and rested his hands in a very business like manner on the table.

"Like I said before dinner, my offer. I'm willing to offer you lodging in my home for one month. You will have that entire time to figure out just why I have done what I have concerning you Wheeler."

Joey gaped at him. This could NOT be happening. Kaiba was gonna let him live in the mansion? But that involved seeing him almost every day!

Kaiba smirked at his puppy's bewildered stare, "To make things more interesting, I will also be using that time to figure out just what gave you that black eye."

Joey's adorable curiosity snapped away in an instant, and he looked defensive, almost fearful.

"You stay out of my business.." he warned and Kaiba dismissed it with the wave of a hand.

"I'm making it my business my pup. Deal with it. You don't have to tell me, like I said, I'll figure it out for myself. In the meantime you will have a warm bed, hot water, good food, clean clothes….more than I can say you have at your own hovel."

Joey grit his teeth at the jibe, and felt his fists clench under the table. But again, he found Kaiba was right. That all sounded really good. He would have taken the offer if it were anyone BUT Kaiba.

"No thanks." He said glaring at the rich boy.

Kaiba expected to have to fight him on this, that's what made it fun.

"Then how about this. If you DON'T take my offer, I'll have a team of private investigators look into the little matter of that black eye. Admit it Wheeler, if that were to happen, I'd have my answers by morning."

Joey stood up, "You can't do that!"

Kaiba glared back, "Oh, I think I can. The police would surely like to know just how that happened, whether it be a gang, or something else."

Again, Kaiba felt a stab of guilt for blackmailing his puppy. But it was the only way for his plan to work.

Both boys had a stand off, and Kaiba narrowed his eyes, "Take my bet Wheeler, it's for the best."

Joey snarled briefly, then, looking absolutely furious, sat down. It would have had a bigger impact if he didn't look absolutely gorgeous when angry.

"Fine, " he said, voice dripping with venom," then describe this bet again, in full detail."

Kaiba smirked, and sat again himself,

"You stay in my home for a month, and try to figure out why I've been acting the way I have. In that time I'll try to figure out your own secrets."

"and the catch?" Joey asked suspiciously.

Kaiba smiled deviously, "If I win, which is likely, I can call you Pup, mutt, or fleabag as much as I want. Also you do exactly as I say, when I say."

Joey growled, "and if I win?"

Kaiba sighed, "If that were to ever happen, I suppose I can stop calling you pup, and if you still feel the way you do about me, I'll never speak to you again. I'll leave you alone."

It was a big leap of faith, but one Kaiba was confident in.

Both teens stared, sizing each other up, before Joey snorted and offered a hand,

"As if I'd ever change my mind about ya Kaiba. It's a bet."

Kaiba grinned maliciously, which made Joey twitch in surprise, staggering back a little. Kaiba had grabbed his hand before he could get far though, and instead of shaking it, he gave it almost a loving squeeze,

"Let the games begin then Pup." He pulled Joey forward and the blonde gasped when Kaiba whispered in his ear,

"I have ways of finding out the information I want wheeler. I look forward to it."

_Back to the present_

"What the fuck was I thinking?" Joey screamed tousling his hair again in frustration.

Marie had shown him a room directly on the other side of Kaiba's. If Kaiba really wanted to, he could come in at night and smother him with a pillow! Could the crazy maid not see he was in danger here?

After rolling about in a tizzy for a while, Joey finally stared exhaustedly up at the ceiling. The lights were off, and he was sleeping in an oversized t-shirt and sweatpants, which he had a sinking feeling also belonged to Kaiba. He had briefly contemplated refusing, but there was no way he was gonna sleep nude while he was here either.

**(a/n kisa: teehee )**

**(a/n Me: shh!)**

The blankets were so fluffy and comfortable, that Joey, despite his attempts not to, felt his eyes droop, until finally he crawled underneath the covers and let them close.

_**Joey's dream**_

_The air smelt sweet, and for the first time in a really long time, Joey felt snug and secure. He knew that his father was probably waiting to wail on him just outside of this incredibly comfy place, but he couldn't bring himself to care at the moment. He just snuggled into incredibly comfy body pillow in front of him, curling his arms up to conserve the warmth that emanated between him and it._

…_.Wait a minute…_

_He didn't own a body pillow. _

_Joey's eyes popped open, and he found himself staring at the white cotton shirt clad chest of someone. He automatically pushed himself away and held his arms away in case the person became alarmed of why the blonde was hugging them. _

"_Sorry 'bout that! I was just…" Joey trailed off when he heard a low rumbling sound. It sounded like…purring…_

"_Gah! What the hell?"Joey screamed, It was Kaiba! Only he had a white tail and cat ears! Joey scrambled back as far as he could in an almost crab like way, when he felt a harsh tug come from his neck, and he gagged._

_The cat Kaiba smirked deviously, and propped himself up on his elbow,_

"_Well ,well ,well, it seems my little puppy is awake." The bastard twirled a piece of what looked like red string round his pointer finger, blue eyes glinting in a way that for-told of evil._

_Joey did not like that look at all, he wanted to put if far behind him. Maybe he'd go hide at the Mutou's for a while, IT wasn't as if Kaiba would ever follow him there!_

_Joey sprang to his feet and lurched to sprint as fast as he could, but two things stopped him. The cloud like substance that he had been sleeping on just moments before jiggled and made his feet sink in, making it very difficult to move forward, while an even harsher tug came form around his neck, and he gasped for air when he collapsed to his knees, back to Kaiba cat._

_Joey brought a hand to his neck, trying to catch his breath after having the wind knocked out of him. For a second, he was too panicked from the lack of air to feel anything unusual. Then, his fingers began to recognize a foreign object. A leather choker of sorts circled around his neck, little metal studs sticking out of it, and a small piece of metal made a pleasant noise when he brushed it with his hand. _

_A dog collar. _

_If that weren't enough, he was disturbed to find that a red lead, matching the string in Kaiba cat's hand, was attached to it. _

_The blonde boy squeaked when he felt long cold fingers snake up his shirt, and hot breath in his ear._

"_Tsk tsk, My puppy should know better than to run away. The fun hasn't even started yet." The fingers crept along Joey's ribcage, until they were dangerously close to touching his nipples. Joey's eye bugged out and he immediately tried to shake the hands away. _

"_Ge the Fuck off me Kaiba! Don't touch me!" _

_The poor confused blonde tried to lunge away again, but the cloud continued to bound underneath, so he fell once again into the arms of the smirking cat, and they wrapped around him tightly._

"_Now now," Kaiba whispered again, blowing softly into Joey's ear before giving the lobe a small nip, making the younger boy blush despite himself "Settle down Pup. You'll get a treat if you do." _

_Kaiba slid the lead down to his wrist, before grabbing both of Joey's with one hand, holding them above his head in an inescapable grip. His other hand continued to explore Joey's upper body, counting each and every one of his ribs. Then finally brushed past Joeys' right nipple, and sensitive nerves gave off electric shocks through joey's system._

"_Mngh!" Joey gave a strangled noise and bit his lip to force back a moan. He was NOT enjoying this! He was just reacting like any other teenage boy would in his position. And the warmth pooling in between his legs had nothing to do with the thing poking into his hip, which he was fairly sure belonged to Kaiba. _

_The purring sound returned, and while Joey continued to squirm around, Kaiba cat buried his face into his shoulder, nuzzling it and placing a gentle kiss on the blonde's collar bone._

"_I really do love you, my little mutt." Joey felt the vibrations of the words Kaiba spoke on his skin, and finally, amidst his helpless panting, found the strength to break away,_

"**Daaaaaaahhhh**!"

Joey flailed, against his constraints, which in reality were just the bed covers. Hw twisted and writhed to escape the dream Kaiba until his body traveled the length of the bed and he fell off.

Upon the sudden ache in his back and ass, Joey hesitantly opened his eyes, afraid to see the Kaiba cat again. He let out a sigh of relief to see the ceiling of his borrowed room in Kaiba's mansion,

Oh god, _Kaiba's_ Mansion

Joey clutched his head in a panic and wormed his way underneath the bed, glancing around him in a paranoia,

'_Is that what he meant last night?' _Joey thought to himself '_Kaiba can Invade my mind! Good god what the hell?' _

He felt his breath catch when he heard numerous footsteps pound down the hallway outside. Kaiba, and Mokuba barged into his room without knocking,

"Joey what's wrong?" Mokuba shouted, searching for the blonde in concern.

"This better be good Mutt, you woke up the entire house!" Kaiba shouted angrily, also searching for his puppy, until he saw the blonde poke his head out from under the bed,

Both of them stared at each other accusingly for a moment before Joey finally pointed a shaking finger at Kaiba,

"Y-y-_you_!" Joey gasped, looking thoroughly scandalized and he inched backward a bit as if to protect himself further from the brunette,

"Me." Kaiba indulged, crossing his arms and glaring at Joey, commanding him to start explaining himself.

Joey scrambled out from under the bed and grabbed a pillow off of it, clapping it around Mokuba's ears so everything he said would be muffled.

"What are you?-"Mokuba tried prying the pillow off of his head, but Joey had a lot more strength in his desperation. He glared at Kaiba,

"You! You'd better stay the fuck out of my mind, you hear me! I don't care how much you want to win this bet! You can't just waltz into other peoples dreams and..and you know!" Joey was so frazzled his voice cracked a little. It was adorable.

Kaiba blinked, "Am I to understand that you were dreaming of me wheeler?"

Joey gaped at him, a tinge of pink staining his cheeks before he shook his head vigorously, "No! It was you, I know it! You found someway to get into peoples heads Kaiba when their sleeping! And then you do weird things to them! Well you ain't pulling that shit with me again!"

Joey growled when he saw Kaiba's lips twitch into a smirk,

"I suppose I should think it a compliment that you think I'm capable of such a thing, but it sounds an awful lot like you were having a dream about me, Mutt."

Joey was clearly about to yell something obscene, and Kaiba found himself thankful that Joey had thought to cover Mokuba's ears, when there was more pounding of feet outside.

"Joey! I'm here to help!" Marie came bursting into the room, wielding a frying pan as her weapon of choice. She was wearing ducky pajama pants and a shirt that had two chibi boys kissing on it. She was breathing in and out rapidly, like a rabid animal and she seemed keen on fighting anything that moved.

Kaiba cautiously held his arms up in mock surrender, "Marie, calm down okay, wheeler's fine."

Marie blinked as she took in the sight around her, Joey was holding Mokuba in front of him almost like a shield if you disregarded the pillow muffling the boy's hearing, Kaiba was angled in a way that suggested that he was going to approach the boy, Joey's bed sheets littered the floor.

Marie squealed and promptly tossed her frying pan to the side,

"Don't tell me you two had a midnight tryst last night! You're both so bold, it's only the first night of the bet!" She gave a thumbs up to Seto, which he grudgingly returned behind his back, where Joey couldn't see it.

Joey's jaw dropped even further, and he seemed incapable of coherent thought, let alone speech,

"Mid-Try-Wha..?" He wheezed

Mokuba meanwhile had crossed his arms and pouted, "What's all the yelling about Seto, I can't hear anything!"

And it was made official, that morning, that this would be the most intense battle of wits and cunning each of the boys had ever been through.

**Me: O/./O…I-I CAN'T BELIEVE I WROTE THAT! (dashes and hides under a bed)**

**Kisa: Oh come on, don't get so embarrassed, that was hardly anything! Just a little foreplay, you realize it's gonna get much juicier than that later on right?**

**Me: ( whimpers)**

**Joey: (crawls in after me and hides)**

**Kaiba: Have you seen the pup, we need to get ready for the next chapter. **

**Joey: (clutches onto me for dear life) help me!**


	4. Average day in the kaiba home

**Oh boy! Fourth chapter! **

**Big news guys, my good friend lil1diva has offered to check over my chapters for mistakes, so you guys wont have to worry about the ones I miss anymore! Yay!**

**Kisa: (bounces in seat) c'mon c'mon c'mon, lets get going so we can get to the juicy stuff!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh, I don't even own my left arm, that belongs to bob down the street…**

Joey cursed and slammed the door to his attached bathroom shut. He hoped that he'd at least make the ceiling rattle a little, but the place was built solid as a rock.

He finally had a decent place to sleep, and that goddamn prick had to mind meddle with him. He hadn't quite accepted the fact that it was a dream and not Kaiba's evil plot to drive him insane. He was still contemplating the possibility of the blue eyed boy being an alien.

"Wouldn't surprise me," Joey muttered, as he undressed and stepped into the shower, "It would at least explain why the guy can work so much without collapsing."

He turned the silver nozzle and yelped when cold water struck his skin. He forced himself to stay still though, and sure enough, the water quickly turned from lukewarm to steaming hot.

He gave a content sigh, feeling better already. Kaiba was a prick, but he had been right about the water being shut off at his Pop's place. The good for nothing drunkard had refused to go to his low wage job for weeks now, and whenever someone called to warn about the piling bills, the old coot would shout insults down the phone that even tax men didn't deserve. So yes. It was bad. Joey had mostly been washing at Tristan's or Yugi's when he managed to come up with a good excuse or if he was sleeping over.

Joey scratched at his skin, relieving it of the dirt and grime that had been slowly building over the past few days. He felt considerably better, now that the uncomfortable itchiness was gone. In a way, it was like he could temporarily wash off thoughts of his dad, the damn bastard.

To say Joey hated him wouldn't be completely accurate. After all, the guy had brought him into this world with his mom, but his mom had abandoned them, taking away his sister and causing his dad to delve even more into his bad habits. Shortly after that…

Joey looked over to the side, at his left shoulder. A scar, a battle wound. The first time his dad had tried to kill him in a drunken stupor. Of course, the next day when he had recovered enough from his hangover, he had grumbled an apology, and offered a bottle of beer to Joey, regardless of him being underage. That's the way it always worked, hate, more hate, then grudging acceptance that Joey would be here and there was nothing else he could do but try and keep him around so someone would make food before he got drunk again.

Joey stared at the scar, wishing desperately he could wash that away too, but he knew that no matter how much it healed, even if others couldn't see it, he would always see the scar plain as day.

"I would leave the old man if I could," Joey mumbled to himself as he grabbed a random bottle of shampoo Kaiba had the decency to give him, "But I ain't got anywhere else to go…"

The blonde did his best to keep thoughts of home away and finished washing himself off quickly. Making a mental note that he would have to go and get his own bath supplies from his house soon, he walked out of the shower briskly, not giving the inviting looking bathtub a second glance. He didn't want to get used to all the fancy stuff because he was only here for a month. Moreover, a shower did the job just fine, why waste the water?

Getting changed into his newly mended uniform, the blonde walked out of the second floor bathroom, only to meet face to face with the object of his aggravation.

"Gah! The fuck Kaiba?" Joey exclaimed, stumbling backward and nearly falling over in an effort to get away from his 'enemy.'

Kaiba reacted quickly, though, and he caught the blonde around the waist, bringing him back to his feet. He took the moment of bliss to inhale the puppy's hair. He smelled good, not like anything in particular, just nice, refreshing.

The moment could only last for so long though, as Kaiba didn't want to give too much away before he had the chance to gather more information on the black eye Joey had. Speaking of which.

"It _is_ my bathroom, mutt," Kaiba said absently, looking over the wound from yesterday and noticing that it had officially turned a dark purple and had swelled so much that Joey's eye had to close. It looked painful, his poor puppy.

Joey growled, "Would you stop calling me that? If I were a dog, I wouldn't be talkin now would I?"

Kaiba smirked, folding his arms in that infuriating way he had, "Funny, I hear a lot more barking than talking."

Joey's glare, so full of heated fury, made the emotions Kaiba felt all the stronger. He needed someone strong; he needed a fighter by his side. And Joey was definitely a fighter.

"Fuck you, Kaiba," Joey snarled, pushing past the taller boy roughly and walking down the hall.

But Kaiba wasn't about to give up the only fun he had during the day.

"Aren't you going to even ask why I was waiting outside the door, Wheeler?"

Joey kept walking however, sticking his nose in the air, "I don't give a rat's ass!"

Kaiba raised an eyebrow and followed him, much to Joey's annoyance,

"Then I suppose you're more interested in getting lost, instead of learning where everything is in the house. Keep in mind, Wheeler, dinner is served at the same time every night, and I don't tolerate midnight snacking. So if you miss it because you got lost, it won't be my problem.

Joey made an irritated noise and messed up his hair, "Fine! Whatever! Just shut up already and show me!"

Kaiba smirked again and obliged. He showed Joey the easiest path to the bathrooms, the dining room, and the kitchen if need be. He also showed him his office ("Off limits , Wheeler." "Yeah, yeah, whateva.")

"How many damn rooms does one house need anyway? I mean I know Marie lives here, but still, there's enough room in here for fifty people, and it's just you three!"

"Correction, Pup," Kaiba said, stopping in front of what he knew was the last stop of the tour, "It's just the FOUR of us."

Joey glared at him, but he still had that hint of confusion at just what Kaiba was getting at. Kaiba grinned deviously, "Besides, I think a lowly mutt like you will appreciate what this next room has to offer."

Before Joey had a chance to retort, Kaiba opened the doors and dragged him inside. Joey's jaw dropped.

The room had the build of a movie theater, the seats arranged in a slant so that if someone were watching in row behind another, they could still see the screen. Which was unnecessary in a way because the friggin thing was huge! So huge, Joey wondered briefly how the hell they even got it through the door. Shelf upon shelf held every games system known to man, including an X-box Kinect. Two large glass cabinets held hours upon hours of DVDs. In addition, upon the insistence of Mokuba, an old fashioned popcorn machine buzzed in the corner. It was a teenage boy's paradise. (lil1diva: mine too. XD).

Speaking of Mokuba…

"RAAAAA! HEAR ME OUT NOW! YA BETTER LISTEN TO ME LIKE IT OR NOT!"

He and Marie were currently head-banging to Lincoln Park, as said maid screamed along into the mike. Mokuba meanwhile swinging the sticks on the rock band drums so hard Seto was nervous they'd shatter.

"Ah, Marie?" Joey started, while a quiet portion of the sound started, but he gulped when he heard the music pick up again in intensity.

"I WON'T BE IGNOOOOOOOOOORRRRREEEDDD!" Marie screamed, scoring perfectly on the meter according to the rock band programming. But even Mokuba joined his brother and Joey in covering their ears in pain.

Without a player, Mokuba's drummer failed out of the song, while Marie continued to jump up and down wildly as she finished the song. She threw the microphone onto the couch growling, letting out a noise that could only be determined as a victory screech. When she noticed the silence it greeted, she turned with a cheerful smile.

"Hello Master Kaiba, Joey! Watcha dooooin?" She chirped happily, and Joey tried not to fall over in shock.

"Marie, kindly refrain from blowing up the speakers, they're expensive," Kaiba said coolly to which Marie shrugged.

Mokuba unplugged his ears and gave his older brother a sheepish grin, "Sorry about that Seto, it was me who picked the song. Totally my fault." He jumped out to his feet, high fiving Marie, "Great job Marie! A perfect score as always."

Kaiba raised an eyebrow, unaware that his brother was even familiar with this kind of music. Note to self, make sure Mokuba's CD's were censored as soon as the opportunity came.

"Quite a pair a lungs ya got there, Miss Marie," Joey commented offhandedly, while Marie patted him on the head.

"I'm honored to hear you think so Joey."

Kaiba had no worries about Marie flirting with the puppy; the way she looked at him was more sisterly than anything else. Though he supposed less intelligent or perceptive people, like Tristan, would take it the wrong way. However, since observation is what Kaiba does, he couldn't help but see Marie's carefree look dip into one of concern, as she gazed at the wound on Joey's face.

Joey winced when she touched it gently as if to asses the damage. "It's nothing," he said almost automatically, out of habit. Marie looked doubtful.

She cast a look over at Kaiba, clearly trying to read his emotions, which she had become a little too good at for his liking. Even so, she never said anything unless Kaiba approached her first, and this time was no different. She gave him a reassuring smile and then patted Joey on the shoulder.

"Be right back."

With that she trotted off, leaving Joey to stare at her bewilderedly.

"Aww," Mokuba complained, "She said she'd do one more song before she got back to work!"

Kaiba took a seat on one of the red velvet chairs; letting both of the other boys know that under no circumstances would he be caught dead playing that game. Joey shrugged, well, if he was gonna be a spoil sport…

"I'll play with you Mo, let me have a turn on da drums though." He grinned when Mokuba visibly brightened.

"Okay!"

And so Kaiba watched bemusedly while both of them played rock band for another hour and a half, taking turns on guitar and drums. Joey wailed over the drum pads worse than Mokuba did. What Kaiba didn't know was that Joey was pretending each drum pad was Kaiba's face as he whacked at them in glee. He got a new record for his efforts.

Eventually, both boys were too tired to watch the screen's notes roll by anymore, so they opted to put on a movie. Kaiba pulled out his laptop, indicating he didn't give to fucks about what they chose. That left the choice unanimous.

Star Trek, 2009.

Mokuba made popcorn, while Joey did his best to figure out the DVD player (eventually Kaiba had to step in, which frustrated Joey to no end.)

Through the first half an hour, both Mokuba and Joey shoveled popcorn into their mouth like they hadn't been fed in weeks, and watched Kirk repeatedly dangle on ledges of over a thousand feet after getting his butt whooped. (Seriously, the guy must be an adrenalin junkie or something.)

It was around when Spock started kissing Uhura however, that Kaiba looked up from his work to check on how they both were. Mokuba had moved into the back row for some reason. He figured out soon why.

Joey was snoring rather loudly, slumped in a position in his seat that would surely give him a crick in his neck.

Kaiba cast a questioning glance at Mokuba, and said boy rolled his eyes, shrugging.

The brunet closed his laptop and put it off to the side so he could gently shift the puppy from his upright position to resting his head in Kaiba's lap. The blonde must have been a heavy sleeper though, because he neither noticed nor did anything to stop it. He merely shifted a little in his sleep, until he turned facing away from him, but still snuggling into the warmth that was ironically Kaiba.

Kaiba let his lips twitch into a soft smile. Yet, he couldn't help wondering if it had been a while since the blonde had been able to sleep in such a secure place with a full stomach.

'He's so beautiful…' He thought absently, reaching up to tuck a lock of blonde hair behind his ear once again. Now that Joey wasn't awake to back away, though, he let his hand linger.

His finger lightly traced the shell of the puppy's ear and started when he heard Joey give a soft whimper.

He blinked when he noticed Joey's face had taken on a delicate flush, and he smirked.

He should have known: the mutt had sensitive ears.

Careful not to wake him, he brushed his fingers against the outer ear again and alternated between doing that and lightly scratching behind them. Joey 'mmmmed' contentedly and his body acted of its own accord, leaning into the touch that felt so pleasant. Kaiba chuckled, 'Not a puppy, my ass.'

He heard the door open and close shortly after, and then Marie was standing at his side, a large bundle in her arms.

"Sorry I took so long, Master Kaiba," she whispered, noticing the sleeping blonde, "There really are too many bathrooms in this place. I had trouble finding the right one with the right supplies."

"So I've heard," Kaiba commented dryly, while Marie set the bundle down at his side and then took his laptop into her arms instead to return to his office. He noticed that there was a large bottle of liquid along with some gauze and some cotton pads.

"Witch hazel," Marie said, indicating the bottle, "My mom's cure all. It should at least sooth the area if anything. Just don't let it get in his eyes," she warned quietly, before pointing to the gauze and bandages.

"Just to be on the safe side." He nodded. She smiled at him.

"I'm rooting for you Master Kaiba," she murmured gently before she skipped back up the alleyway of the movie theater to return to her maidly duties.

Kaiba rolled his eyes, as if he couldn't have figured that out by all of her endless innuendos. He appreciated her support all the same, though. He reached over and unscrewed the top of the Witch Hazel, and tried not to chuckle when Joey's nose screwed up in confusion at the strong and unfamiliar smell.

While the blonde started to stir, Kaiba acted quickly and blotted some of the liquid onto a cotton pad, and placed a hand gently on Joey's shoulder to make sure he wouldn't move too much.

Joey groaned, obviously close to consciousness, when he felt something cold touch his face. He gasped and jumped, making his eye fly open.

Seto Kaiba's face hovered over his a short distance away, holding a cotton pad with a strange smell and slowly lowering it to his face again.

"W-what are you doing?" he shouted in surprise, struggling to gain leverage and sit up. However, that infuriating bastard kept a steady hand on his shoulder, forcing him back into his lap, adding to Joey's already immense discomfort.

"Sit still and keep your eyes closed, Mutt."

"Tell me what you're doing!" Joey shot back looking, to Kaiba's surprise, a little bit panicked.

Without another word, the stoic teen held up the bandages, "Marie insists that you put these on your eye, says it will help."

Joey was still rigid, and trying to lean as far away from the older boy as he could, but upon seeing it was only medical supplies, the panicked died away.

"Well why are you doin this, you coulda just woken me up and I'd do it myself."

"Why skip out on all the welcomed silence pup? And you're half blind, I doubt seriously you could do this competently," Kaiba replied simply, before pushing Joey down once again so he could continued to treat the eye without difficulty, "Now stay **still.**"

Joe huffed, but he did as he was told. At first, his face screwed up in complaint when the cold pad met his face, but eventually, when his skin began to tingle and the hot sensation he had in the wound started to ebb a little, he relaxed and let Kaiba dab the medicine on the affected area. Marie was right; it did help.

Joey felt a little disappointed when Kaiba tossed the pad into a nearby trashcan and groaned in complaint when he saw him pull out the gauze. The blonde boy sat up and Kaiba grabbed his arm so he couldn't get too far away.

"C'mon Kaiba, I don't need that stuff," He shifted away a little when Kaiba tried to press the gauze to his affected eye.

"If Marie says you do, then you do. I thought I told you to sit!" he snapped, pushing Joey back into his seat and wrapping bandages around his head firmly. Well, aside from his puppy looking like a pirate, he had to say it was better to see that than the angry looking wound that was there.

"But it itches..." Joey whined, lifting his hands up to try and rub at his eye through the thick material.

Kaiba slapped his hand away though, "I'd better not see you do that again mutt, or I'll staple them to your head. Those are to stay on until Marie deems them ready to either be swapped or taken off completely, do I make myself clear?" The older Kaiba said severely and Joey pouted despite himself.

"Yeah fine, whatever. Damn prick," He muttered the last part under his breath, and Kaiba felt his lip twitch upwards.

It was a difficult process, but the puppy was beginning to respond to the training. He even followed a few of his master's orders. All that was left to deal with was that issue with trust, and of course that pesky bet of theirs.

**WOOT! I finished!**

**Kisa: (pouts) there was hardly anything juicy in there!**

**Me: But-but it was so cute and fluffy!**

**Kisa: fine, I'll give you that, but I'd better see some goddamn smut soon, I'm going into deprivation.**

**Me : (face palm) Oy**

**Joey: (groans) please read and review so I can get these stupid bandages off! They itch like crazy!**

**Kaiba: (holds stapler threateningly) remember what I said pup. No scratching.**

**Joey: (whimpers )**

**Lil1diva: if there are any more mistakes, don't shoot me**


	5. slight change of plans

**Eheh, hi everyone, heres the beginning of chapter 5!**

**Kisa: (glares)**

**Me: (grins sheepishly)**

**Kisa: Well, if you've been wondering why this is an M rated fic, yet there's scarcely any smut, ask this one! (points to me)**

**Me: (bows head) I realized that with Joey and Seto's bet the way it is, Seto could hardly do anything without risk of losing the bet, and at this point that would mean never seeing Joey again. Thus putting a tragic end to my story before it could get started.**

**Kisa: but..**

**Me: but I think I've come up with an idea that will solve that problem, so that's what this next chapter is about. I apologize in advance if the story sounds like it's jumping around, I'll do my best so that it stays realistic, but also solves my problem, and we can get to the…shall we say…fun parts. **

**lil1diva: squeal! XD**

**Kisa: If you hadn't rushed in writing the first bet we wouldn't have to do this you know.**

**Me (pouts) look it's my first yaoi, and I've never really written a sleazy character like Kaiba before, so stop picking on me! I'm doing the best I can!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own yugioh, otherwise I would have never let 4 kids TOUCH it (but the voices would all be the same. They do oddly suit them, but theirs only so much you can do with a crappy dialogue.)**

Kaiba was at an impasse. On the one hand, he had Joey right within his grasp. He knew that given the opportunity, he could ravage the blonde by simply waltzing across the hallway and entering his bedroom, and all it would take was a simple turn of a lock.

Again, he wouldn't result to rape, but sexual harassment was a whole different issue.

The stoic CEO groaned in frustration, leaning back in his desk chair, letting the black leather headrest cradle his head and lean against the glass window with a soft 'thunk.'

He wanted to do so many things with Joey… and not just sexual. He wanted to talk to him, let Joey tell him everything that was wrong, and perhaps, if the pup managed to convince him, he'd let Joey learn a little more about his past as well. He wanted to hold him, watch him while he slept even if he snored. His wants were so pathetically cliché and mushy, that he absolutely refused to elaborate so the author of this fan fic could write about them.

With the bet the way it was, with the way Joey was right now, these hopes were next to impossible. Joey was dense, and so far Kaiba's hints, however blindingly obvious, have bounced off of the boy's pure naivety like repelling magnets. In a way, the brunet was lucky because although the blonde remained painfully obtuse to his advances, he knew that if he gave him one too many hints, Joey would figure everything out, and Kaiba would lose the bet. He hadn't made much headway with getting his puppy to trust him or even to think of him as a friend, let alone a lover. If Kaiba lost his bet too soon, then he would lose Joey forever; the blonde would run even farther out of reach and never look back again.

The brunet leaned forward, holding his head in his hands. If Joey won, even their petty little fights would be lost. Joey wouldn't bother to rise to the bait Kaiba left, no matter how underhanded it was. He would ignore him, and the bet would make Kaiba do the same if he wasn't careful.

But still, Kaiba's urge to kiss the blonde until he was panting underneath him was so strong it was painful.

He shifted his feet a little under his desk, trying not to sulk, when he felt his shoe make contact with something solid. It crackled with the unmistakable consistency of a paper bag.

He raised an eyebrow and pushed away from his desk, looking under with mild curiosity. Sure enough, there was a paper bag, hidden underneath his large oak desk where Mokuba and possibly a certain puppy couldn't find it.

The bag handle had a big red bow on it, with a small not on it. Having nothing better to do than go in circles about his current situation, Kaiba pulled the note off.

_Master Kaiba_

_I'm not sure where you stand with Joey at this point, so here are some things to help you two get started, enjoy!_

_-Marie._

Kaiba groaned when he looked at the crudely drawn chibi face in the corner beside the maid's signature. It gave him a victory sign, obviously trying to inspire confidence in whatever was enclosed in the bag.

Kaiba glanced up at the door. Marie had already come to clean his office today, which explained why this was here. Joey was no doubt still lazing in bed; school had been canceled for one more day as teams spread throughout the city to clean up the debris left by the hurricane. Mokuba had gone to a friend's house, taking advantage of this freedom. There was no one to stumble in on whatever absurd thing Marie had given him in her attempt to 'help'.

He hesitantly reached into the paper bag, and his hands closed on several different objects, one of which was soft and furry.

He pulled them out, and upon sight, promptly dropped them again.

He never imagined such objects would ever make contact with the desk he built his company on.

A pair of fuzzy handcuffs clattered onto the shining oak, along with chocolate syrup, a leash and collar, and finally, a small tube of marshmallow flavored…

Oh god…

"Dammit, Marie," Kaiba grunted, feeling his pants growing tighter as his mind raced with possibilities, yet knowing he couldn't use any of them… yet.

It was torture.

/

Joey hopelessly clawed at the bed sheets, feeling the familiar prickly sensation erupt underneath he thick bandages covering his eye. It itched so badly, dammit!

Why was Kaiba such a jerk? It wasn't like scratching would cause any more damage to the eye than there already was.

In fact, if it had been only Kaiba giving him the order not to scratch, he would have done so anyway when Kaiba wasn't looking. Since when did he take orders from that prick anyway?

But it was when Marie had changed the bandages later that night, once again cleansing the wound with witch hazel and he expressed the point, she got that look.

It was that worried and disappointed look that Serentiy got when he would once again refuse to tell her the truth of how things were going on with his dad. He hated it when people worried about him, he hated it that when he was trying so desperately to keep that look away, he just managed to make it worse. And it didn't help the fact that he had, despite himself, started to grow very fond of Marie. So in the end, she had made him promise that he wouldn't scratch it until it was fully healed. And now he was paying for it.

Hoping to distract himself, the blonde duelist reached over to the side table, grabbing the clicker to the big screen TV across the room. He turned it on, and smirked when he saw a commercial for yet another duel monsters tournament.

"I'll have ta ask Yug if he's gonna enter. It'd be nice if he could enter a tournament without having some wacko force him into it for once."

He chuckled again and flipped the channel to the news, where they were giving updates on the hurricane damage done to Domino. Where he currently was, there was little to no damage, but that was because rich bastards like Kaiba had houses that were solid as rocks. Unfortunately, his neighborhood wasn't so lucky. He could tell from the film that a lot of trees had blown over, and one or two houses even had their roofs cave in. He knew his house was safe, or at least in better condition. If it wasn't, he had no doubt that his father would be yelling for the cameraman to get off his damn property, chugging a beer and throwing it at the reporter while his house literally fell apart behind him.

It was almost comical in a way to think about, but Joey frowned slightly. It had been two days since he had last been home.

'Pops is gonna be pissed…' he sighed to himself, and he felt his muscles tense at the mere thought of what the older Wheeler would do when he got home.

Joey sat up, hunching over his crossed legs and thinking hard. If he was going to go through with this bet with Kaiba, he needed his things from the house. His back pack, his clothes, his own shampoo, his DECK for a start. But along with that, he would have to face his father.

The young blonde glanced at the clock, 4pm. If he was careful, he might be able to sneak over to the apartment and grab his things when the old man stumbled out to do what he usually did. Gamble, drink, and pick up hussies at the local bar. If he was lucky, he wouldn't come home till 1 in the morning, and Joey would be long gone.

He swung his legs over the edge of the bed, and pulled on his blue uniform jacket.

'I gotta face him sooner or later,' he thought to himself bemusedly, 'it might as well be sooner.'

He had just decided to slip out while Kaiba was still working, hoping to avoid questioning and an awkward explanation, when he heard a knock at his door.

Cursing, Joey let out a reluctant, "S'open!"

Marie poked her head in, beaming at him in a way that was infectious. Joey gave her a lopsided grin in welcome, as she skipped inside with a change of bed sheets.

"Afternoon, Joey. Whatcha up to?"

Joey shrugged and helped her strip the bed, despite her protests that he didn't have to and that it was her job.

"I'm not used to the rich life style, Miss Marie," he explained, "To be honest I don't think I'll ever be used to it."

Marie shrugged herself this time, dropping it. She did however glance at his outfit with that keen eye of hers.

"Going out Joey?"

"Yeah," he said hoping she wouldn't ask where. No such luck.

"Where you off to, if you don't mind me asking?"

Joey bit his lip, and then decided that even if he did lie, she could probably tell.

"Im gonna go pick up some stuff from my house."

He felt his heart quicken in panic when she paused at how hollow his voiced sounded. It didn't match his personality at all. Cursing mentally, Joey rushed to cover it up.

"I mean if I'm gonna be staying here for a month and all, I'd like ta have more than one pair of drawers ya know?" He gave the best goofy looking grin he could manage at that point.

She smiled back, but he could tell it was only so he would clam down.

Fluffing the pillow, she asked over her shoulder, "Why don't I come with you, that way I can bring the car and you won't have t-"

"NO!" Joey shouted before he could stop himself.

Marie jumped, dropping the pillow and staring at him in concern.

'Shit, calm down Joey," the blonde scolded himself, before taking a deep breath,

"I mean, ah, no that's alright. I can handle it by myself."

He could feel Marie stare at him with the same calculating gaze she gave Kaiba yesterday. The one where it felt like she could read his mind just by gazing at him, not with boredom, not with scorn, not even in concern. It was wholesome, nonjudgmental curiosity. It was a major contrast with her normal kooky attitude.

"Why?" she asked. Her question wasn't demanding, letting Joey know that if he couldn't answer completely it was okay. But still, her concerned gaze made the guilt eat away at his gut. He couldn't lie to her, he just couldn't.

"Look… just…" he stumbled while the magenta haired girl cocked her head to the side, "Just don't go to my house okay? Just stay here, no one has to go there but me. Okay?"

Marie didn't answer; her eyes still searched his for an answer, something, anything she could use to help him. She looked so goddamn frightened of something, but not of him.

Shaking his head, he refused to look at her another moment, and jogged out of the room, and then out the front door.

Marie was left to stand there, the bed half made.

She felt something stir in her, something she had not felt for a very long time. Her back erupted in a cold sweat, and a chill ran up her spine. Something wasn't right, something wasn't right at all.

The otaku held her stomach, feeling sick all of a sudden. It was the same feeling she always got when Mokuba was kidnapped (again) or when Kaiba was forced into a duel to the death. No matter where they were, she would just get the same horrible fear that something was happening that put them in danger.

Joey was in danger _now_, she was sure of it. He was going home, but there was danger there. She could hear it in his voice.

Without another second thought, Marie turned on her heel and ran as fast as she could to Kaiba's office.

/

As Joey continued to sprint down the familiar run down streets of his neighborhood, he came upon his father's apartment building. No lights were on, not even the glow of the TV in the front room. Good. He was gone for the night.

Rummaging in his pocket for his key, he turned the door handle and stepped inside. He kicked at an empty beer can halfheartedly, taking in the sight before him.

There was nothing remotely homey about this place. The furniture was either broken or tipped over, a victim of his fathers rage when Joey wasn't there to receive it. Beer cans littered the floor and the wall paint was peeling. He was also vaguely aware of a puddle on the other side of the kitchen, which Joey turned away from, feeling the contents of his _own_ stomach rise a little.

He climbed the stairs, careful to avoid bits of broken glass, and he managed to wade his way through piles of filthy laundry to his own room. A faded paper sign bearing his misspelled name in crayon hung pitifully in front of it. Serenity had made it for him when she had just turned four, and he couldn't bear to part with it. So he took it down, holding the aged paper in his hand tenderly, opening the door to his room.

It was considerably cleaner than most of the house. It had the usual clutter that you would expect to see in a teenager's room, but it didn't give you a sense that a war had underwent shortly before in it either.

Joey started throwing clothes and other important belongings haphazardly into an old duffle bag he found in his closet, when he heard a creak of a door down stairs.

He froze in horror, his heart leaping into his throat.

No… no he couldn't be back yet.

He stood planted to his spot, waiting for the familiar angry shout that usually announced his father's arrival, but it never came. Instead, he heard from all the way down the stairs a conceited snort that could belong to only one person.

Joey's fear took a steep plummet into rage. Kaiba wouldn't, he couldn't have followed him.

He ran from his room and down the hallway, bumping into walls in his haste to get to the stairwell and wincing as his arms took most of the impact. He skidded to a halt, and, as much as he wished it wasn't true, there was Kaiba.

The brunet had visibly recoiled in disgust at the stench of alcohol and vomit, gazing coldly about him in the dump he had always known Joey was forced to live in.

Joey's grip on the stair banister caused an audible creak to go through the room.

"I have no words, Wheeler," Kaiba said simply, looking up at the mutt. His tone suggested everything he could have said though, and Joey's face visibly contorted with rage.

How _dare _he.

"Get out now!" Joey screamed running down the stairs at such a speed that, for a moment, Kaiba was afraid he'd plummet head-first down them. "Get the fuck out of my house!"

Kaiba felt his own anger rising once again. When Marie had told him that Joey left without talking to him first, he had a mixture of concern, considering how upset the girl looked, and anger. His need for total control was mostly the influence of this.

Before Joey could do so, Kaiba reached forward and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt,

"Who do you think you are mutt?" he said dangerously, "Talking to me like that when it was YOU who ran away without thinking. You didn't even leave a note to explain yourself!"

Joey glared up at Kaiba with a mixture of incredulity and scorn, "What are ya, my mom? Get he hell off me bastard, the deal's off! I'm sick of you!"

Kaiba felt a spike of fury and panic flare through him. He couldn't lose Joey, not so soon, not ever.

"Oh no you don't," Kaiba growled, forcing Joey against a wall, tightening his grip on the boys shirt, "When you made this deal, Wheeler, you sealed your own future. I don't back out of deals, and I don't let my opponents back out either. We're going back to the mansion _now._"

Joey promptly spat in Kaiba's face, and while the brunet drew back to wipe it off in anger, he bolted for the stairs, running up them two at a time, and nearly tripping his own feet trying to get back to his room. He'd lock the door until Kaiba decided it wasn't worth it and left.

Joey cried out in surprise when he felt strong arms seize him around the waist as he ran. The bastard had longer legs so he had caught up to Joey with little to no difficulty. They continued to struggle against each other, until there was a loud bang downstairs, and the unmistakable hacking of a man who had smoked all his life and didn't give a damn about what it did to him.

Joey's heart stopped beating for a second, and his breath hitched.

No... please no…

The fight abruptly left Joey, causing Kaiba to fall on top of him in his attempt to get a solid grip on the boy, before he could utter a cry of surprise. Joey clapped a hand on his mouth, and stared in pure terror towards the stairwell they had left behind.

There was a pause at the sound of their fall, and a gruff voice called out,

"Boy?"

Joey flinched, but didn't answer, his chest rose and fell rapidly as he started to hyperventilate, but to Kaiba's alarm it was dangerously shallow.

"Get your ass down here now, brat!" Joey's father growled from downstairs, and they heard a creak when he approached, "Brat!"

Joey leapt to his feet, dragging Kaiba up with him, and searched frantically for something, still holding a hand firmly over Kaiba's mouth.

"Don't make me look for you!" the voice threatened again

Finally, Joey pulled the taller boy towards a cluttered looking closet, and threw him in.

Kaiba was about to say something when Joey hissed at him,

"Shut your mouth, don't move, don't say anything or _I'll _fucking murder you, you understand?"

There was a desperation in Joey's voice that threw Kaiba for a loop. He didn't sound angry at all now, just panicked and silently pleading that for once, Kaiba listened to him. Joey didn't even wait for an answer, heavy footsteps were echoing through the house as his father climbed the stairs towards them. He shut the closet door quietly but quickly, then hurriedly going to the wall opposite the closet.

Kaiba silently positioned himself in front of the keyhole, squinting so he could just barely make out the blurry forms of his puppy and the older Wheeler.

"Where the hell have you been the past two days you little, bitch," the man growled, and Kaiba's anger spike again. He glared murderously at the man that dared talk that way to his puppy.

"School trip, pops," Joey answered quietly, purposefully staring at the wall and avoiding his father's eyes.

"I neva heard about no_ hic_ damn school trip dipshit." The obviously intoxicated man slurred, advancing on his clearly frightened son. Joey held himself still, though, and faced his father bravely.

"Ya passed out after ya filled out the permission form," he said softly, and the man grunted.

"You're lying to me, ya little piece of shit!" he bellowed, and backhanded Joey across the face, hard. Kaiba felt his eyes widen, and he leapt to his feet. No one was aloud to hit Joey, no one, and he was going to show this bastard that. But as much as Kaiba tried to pull the door open, he couldn't. Joey had locked it.

Kaiba was surprised his position wasn't given away, but he found that Joey had started yelling back at his father to cover up for the noise Kaiba was making.

"So what if I am? It's not like you care!"

"**Don't you fucking talk to me like that!**"Joey's father thundered, and there was a bam, and then a thud, followed by several grunts of pain, as the man beat the blonde into the floor, kicking him repeatedly in the head and sides.

Kaiba felt like he was being torn apart with every pained sound coming from his puppy's lips, and he strained against the door to no avail.

There was a high cold, cruel laugh, and the grunts stopped. Kaiba knelt to peek through the key hole again, and watched the man leave the crumpled form of his son on the floor, apparently satisfied.

There was more stomping, and then a slam of a door. The horrible man had left again, off to resume his low life activities.

For a few minutes, Joey just laid there, breathing with difficulty, before finally pushing himself to his knees.

He shakily stood up, walking across the room, and opening the door that had kept Kaiba at bay for so long.

For a split second, they both looked at each other. Joey was hyperventilating, his eyes so wide and fearful as he awaited Kaiba's scorn. The bandages Marie had so tenderly wrapped around his eye hung limply from the beating they took, until they finally drifted to the floor. He waited for Kaiba to call him a coward and weak, for taking all of that lying down.

But Kaiba did just the opposite. It was that moment that Kaiba decided something that would change Joey's life forever.

The blonde was NEVER setting foot in this house again.

Kaiba grabbed the blonde's wrist and led him into his room, and the blonde, mind clearly somewhere else, let him do so listlessly.

The brunet grabbed the half-packed tote bag, slinging it over his shoulder and making note that if Joey was missing anything, he would either buy it for him, or come and get it himself. He continued to lead the dazed blonde at a strong pace until they were at least a block away from the apartment that Seto now held with so much contempt.

Knowing what a rundown cesspool the area was, Kaiba had asked the driver to park the limo a few blocks away, so as to avoid 'unwanted' attention. For the most part, Joey remained in a state of shock, letting Kaiba lead him and stumbling over his feet to keep up with Kaiba's long strides.

Gradually, the situation of what just happened sunk in, and Joey snapped to attention once again.

Kaiba closed an empty fist where the blonde's wrist had been as he turned into an alleyway, and he looked back to see Joey standing stock still in the middle of it.

"….you saw," the blonde said hoarsely, but it sounded as if he were merely stating this fact to himself than asking Kaiba if it were true, "You saw _everything_.."

Kaiba kept a steady eye on Joey, knowing that to show his pity would only make Joey feel worse.

"I did," he conceded quietly.

Joey buried his hands in his hair, moaning in anguish, "Fuck."

It didn't stop there. Joey started pacing from one wall of the alley to the next, running his hands through his hair desperately and shooting terrified looks at the CEO, knowing that at some point, he was going to have to explain.

"Dammit," he snarled, hating himself for looking so weak in front of his greatest rival. He didn't want him to see that, he didn't want ANYONE to see that!

"Fuck fuck FUCK! Fucking shit!" Joey yelled, finally stopping his pacing only so he could pound the brick wall fiercely in frustration. With every word he pounded harder, until finally he full out punched the solid rock. Over and over again, until a distinctly wet sound came with each 'thunk', and something warm dripped down his arm. His knuckles were searing, but he didn't care,

He just didn't fucking care anymore.

Kaiba's eyes widened and he raced forward to stop the blonde from hurting himself further. He grabbed Joey's wrist again before the cracked knuckles could make contact with the wall again.

Joey struggled, pulling in further desperation to get away. The physical pain was nothing to the horrible shame that stabbed his heart. But it was obvious that Kaiba would not relent, as he gently turned Joey and planted him so his back was pressed against the wall, holding his wrists over his head much like his feline counterpart had in Joey's dream.

Joey writhed for a moment or two longer, before finally hanging his head in such a defeated way, Kaiba felt his heart break.

"Why?" Joey whispered

When Kaiba didn't answer, he snapped his head up with such a look of loathing Kaiba felt his heart give another tiny lurch.

"Why did you come here? Why couldn't you just stay away?" Joey screamed, beyond rage and fear now.

Kaiba could do nothing but gaze down at his puppy, what could he say? Joey had given him plenty of warning. It was Kaiba's own foolhardy overconfidence that caused the blonde to be hurt.

"Why can't you just leave me alone? Why can't anyone just let ME handle it! Why can't I just protect everyone else! Why do I gotta tell you people everything about my business? Does it not matter how much it hurts for me to tell?"

Kaiba's hands shook slightly, tight over the blood soaked cuffs of his puppy's jacket.

Joey shook his head from side to side, not even yelling at Kaiba now, just yelling in general. The brunet could tell he was on the verge of hysterics. Tears stung the blonde's eyes, but he refused to let them fall. Not for anybody.

"Why do people put me through this? Why can't they let me pretend everything's okay? That's easier on everyone right? Just act like it isn't happening? So then why, WHY?

Kaiba could take it no longer and finally let go of the boys wrists so he could grip Joey by the shoulders,

"Wheeler, snap out of it!" he tried desperately to get through to the boy, shaking him then finally taking both sides of the boy's face and holding it still. He forced the boy's line of vision to stay on his, "Joey!"

The younger boy's eyes snapped open at the sound of his name, as if he had woken up from a bad dream. His breathing was labored, coming out ragged and sharp. He could only look up at Kaiba, his big brown eyes wide in surprise and disbelief. It was like he had completely forgotten Kaiba was there.

"Kai…ba..." He gasped, his lungs struggling to catch up with the hyperventilation. His eyes were shining, but Kaiba knew with a mixed amount of pride and exasperation, that Joey was bravely holding them back.

Kaiba brushed a thumb over the boy's cheek bone, noticing the dark circles from many sleepless nights that a few days rest at his mansion hadn't managed to cure just yet. The scars were evident from this close distance, not to mention the once again swelling black eye. Well, Kaiba got what he wanted. He now knew where it had come from. Yet the satisfaction he thought it would bring never came.

Joey's eyes closed so he wouldn't have to look at his rival, and his face collapsed into one of anguish.

"Don't tell Serenity," Joey whispered, his voice pleading with the last bit of dignity he could muster, "Or Yugi or the others. I don't want them to know, I didn't want ANYONE to know."

Kaiba felt something in him collapse, and finally pulled the younger boy into an embrace, crushing his frail form against his chest and burying his face into his blonde tresses.

Joey stiffened, and didn't return the gesture, but Kaiba did notice something hot and wet soak through his black turtle neck, and he was sure it wasn't blood this time.

They stood there for close to ten minutes, Joey just letting Kaiba hug him. He didn't cry anymore after the first couple of moments. He was too stubborn for that, too damn proud to let his vulnerability show.

'That's alright,' Kaiba thought to himself, stroking the blonde's hair, 'We can work on that in time.'

His breathing slowed and his body relaxed slightly. The panic attack was over, and the normal Joey was back once again. Kaiba could have stood there forever, finally holding his puppy to him and in the right mind to never let him go again, when he heard someone clear their throat from below him.

"Kaiba?" Joey asked through his voice slightly muffled voice currently buried in Kaiba's chest, "M'better now, ya can let go."

Kaiba took a deep breath. There was no going back now. The feelings he had when he held his puppy close, they were addicting. He let the boy back away a bit, but he kept a firm grip on his shoulders.

There was no going back now, for either of them. He could never let him go.

It was time for a slight change in plan

Joey rubbed his eyes and coughed into his fist awkwardly, preparing to apologize for wigging out like that, when he noticed the brunet's neglect to release him totally.

Trying to shrug out of Kaiba's grip, Joey looked up at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Kaiba, did ya hear me?"

Kaiba let his hands trail down Joey's arms, and took hold of his wrists again, holding them against the wall as Joey tensed again.

Looking extremely uncomfortable, Joey tried to pull himself away from the intense looking CEO.

"I heard you perfectly fine, Wheeler," he said, "but I don't want to let go."(lil1diva: squee! Can't faint, must… beta…)

Joey blinked and narrowed his eyes, alarms going off in his head.

"S-say what?" He asked nervously, squirming even more when he felt Kaiba press his hips to his. 'This wasn't happening.' He told himself over and over 'just another trick like that dream before, just Kaiba trying to get into my head again.'

There was an amused chuckle, and he felt the hairs on the back of his neck raise when Kaiba bent his head to whisper in his ear.

"You wanted to know why I followed you here tonight?" Kaiba asked, rubbing his thumbs sensually against the soft skin on Joey's wrists. He frowned when he felt the now dry blood.

Joey looked at Kaiba like he had absolutely lost his mind, but nonetheless answered with a hesitant.

"Well, yeah."

Kaiba chuckled darkly, and the alarm bells in Joey's head grew louder.

"Remember our bet, Wheeler? How you had one month to figure out why I'm acting the way I am lately?"

Joey blinked then frowned, almost pouting.

"Yeah, jerk. You had a month ta figure out what gave me the shiner. But ya cheated and followed me home ta find out!"

Kaiba rolled his eyes; of course the dimwitted blonde would take it that way.

"I had absolutely no idea what would happen when I followed you home Mutt," Kaiba tightened his grip when Joey once again made an attempt to escape, "If you wanna ask someone how they knew, ask Marie."

Joey blinked, confused once again, "Why would-?"

"That's her business, so like I said, ask her," Kaiba said impatiently, wanting to get home so he could finally get things started, "The point is I agree with you. Although it was unintentional, I did find out rather abruptly. You hardly had any time to try and figure out your half, and lord knows you need time."

Joey narrowed his eyes, knowing somehow that Kaiba was insulting him but confused at the fond tone Kaiba was doing so with.

"Get to da point Kaiba," he warned, growing tired of being held prisoner against the alley wall. He was tired and really all he wanted to do was go to sleep.

Kaiba smirked, and Joey got the feeling that he had just walked right into a trap.

"Alright then," Kaiba said, keeping one wrist planted firmly against the wall, but bringing the injured one forward, "I'll make it easy on you."

Joey blinked, and was about to open his mouth and question the older boy again, when he froze, his voice dying in his throat and eyes bulging in their sockets.

Kaiba pressed his lips to the bruising skin, breathing against it, making the now sensitive nerves tingle in pleasure. He kissed each and every knuckle while Joey remained frozen, gaping at the CEO like a fish.

"This. Is why. I came. Tonight," Kaiba whispered to Joey between kisses, and Joey bristled further.

Kaiba smirked again, "Well, Wheeler, do you understand yet? Why I've been acting the way I have?"

Joey looked like he wanted nothing more than to punch the CEO. Although his face had taken a slight pink tinge, he looked beyond freaked.

"No. I DON'T understand why, I don't think I'll ever understand _why, _but I think I'm starting to get the basic idea," he said, exasperatedly writhing in his effort to get away from Kaiba.

Kaiba chuckled again, and nuzzled Joey's neck causing him to quake in alarm,

"I have a proposition for you Joey."

"Oh god," Joey groaned, whenever someone said those words, it never meant anything good.

"Our original bet is pretty much shot now, we both know the other's secret. But there is that little matter of how I found out first."

"But that wasn't fair!" Joey said, making a nervous noise in his throat when Kaiba pressed his lips to his neck, and tried to stretch as far as he could away.

"True," Kaiba nodded, tickling Joey's neck with his hair, "Which is why I'm offering you the chance to try again."

Joey shook his head again, trying to banish the growing heat that was gathering in his head and groin. He was not enjoying this; it was just the damn teenage hormones picking up.

"I don't get what yer saying!"

Kaiba sighed, Joey was making this a lot more difficult than it need to be. He lifted his head so he was staring straight into those honey brown eyes he loved so much.

"A new bet. Same stakes. You stay in my house for one month, in that time I'll make you fall in love with me. If, perhaps only when hell freezes over, you manage to NOT fall in love with me, you can have the original promise. I will leave you alone from that point on."

Joey snorted, "As if I'd EVER fall in love wit you Kaiba! I'd rather stick broken glass up my nose!"

Kaiba's eyes narrowed but his smirk turned into a dangerous grin, "Oh, I disagree pup, because while you can resist all you like, I will have something on my side I didn't before."

Joey glared at him, "Oh yeah? What's that?"

Kaiba returned his head to Joey's neck, much to the boy's chagrin. Grinning sadistically, he slid his tongue up the expanse of skin until it touched just below the blonde's earlobe.

Joey gave a strangled yell of surprise and started squirming to get away again.

"This time _Joey, _you have to take my suggestions. That means if I want to do this," He licked Joey's neck again and Joey snarled angrily, "I can. If I want you to sleep in my bed, you will. If I want to-"

"Enough I get it!" Joey's voice cracked with how flustered he was, "As if I'd ever take a bet like this! I'll get raped by da end of the night!"

Kaiba frowned, and shook his head, "Oh no, I'd never do something like that. You see Puppy, I WANT you to love me. Rape will not solve this in any way. I want you, but I want you to want me back. No, we won't be going all the way until you're ready"

Joey gave him a heated glare and screamed, "I will NEVER be ready, bastard!"

Kaiba shrugged it off, going back to kissing Joey's neck, "We'll see pup. But you can be sure of one thing. You are never going back to that hell hole, not as long as I live. If you want to go to the Mutou's, be my guest. But they'll want to know why you, all of a sudden, want to move in."

Joey bit his lip, dammit! The goddamn prick was right. If he wanted to continue keeping his secret, he couldn't go to his friends, at least not yet. And as much as he hated to admit it, life at the mansion sounded a lot better than going home to his bum of a father every night.

Joey writhed in Kaiba's grip, trying to push him away. It was hard to think straight when your worst enemy was giving you a hickey. His confusion made his head spin… as well as other things. The heat between his legs grew more intense when Kaiba ground his hips against it.

"Say yes, pup," Kaiba breathed into his ear, "I won't take no for an answer."

Joey lost it when Kaiba took hold of both his wrists in one hand and snaked the other down his back, giving his ass a firm squeeze.

"Dammit, Kaiba!"

"Close enough," Kaiba kissed his prey on the cheek and slung him over his shoulder. (lil1diva: kissing your prey? Interesting…)

"Where are you taking me?" Joey pounded on his back, kicking at his ribs but coming into contact with nothing, "Put me down you bastard!"

"We're going home mutt," Kaiba answered simply, as he saw the driver standing some feet away with the limo, "_You're_ going home."

Ecstatic that he didn't have to hold himself back so much, Kaiba gave his puppy's ass another squeeze, and chuckled when he heard Joey squeak in alarm and protest once again.

**My hands huuuuuuurrrrrttt! This was the longest chapter EVER!**

**Kisa: (claps hands) but yay! We don't have to worry about technicalities anymore. Bring on the smut dammit!**

**Me: (sighs) well the fluff was nice while it lasted. Not that there won't be plenty more of it later on. **

**Kisa and Marie: (drools) yaaaaooooiiiii**

**Kaiba: (smirks) looks like we'll be busy from now on, won't we puppy,**

**Joey: Gah! Get away from me, don't look at me like that! Help me!**

**Kaiba: (drags joey off)**

**Me: (waves apologetically) I'm so sorry joey..**

**Kisa: (waves as well) I'm not! Read and review, and the juicy stuff will come all the more faster, heheheh. X3**

**Lil1diva: I approve this chapter for all yaoi fangirls, like me. XD.**


	6. Hide and Seek

**Chapter six already! This story is so much fun.**

**Kisa: smut.**

**Me: eh?**

**Kisa: SMUT.**

**Me: (glares at Kisa) you know people are gonna think you've gone funny in the head. And that effects me too because you're, well, me. So to speak.**

**Kisa: (glares back)**

**Me ...fine, I'll get to writing.**

**Kisa: smuuuuuuut X3**

**Disclaimer: I do not own yugioh. If I did, Joey and Kaiba would obviously be running into each other a lot, in more ways than one.**

The drive back to the mansion was...eventful, in its own right.

For starters, Kaiba had insisted that Joey sit on his lap, not giving the blond a choice despite the insistent protests and struggling. Which, to be honest, only served to entice Kaiba in keeping him in place there even more.

Truth be told, Kaiba wasn't really doing much to deserve Joey's rather colorful objections. All he wanted to do was hold his puppy in his arms as much as he could; he hadn't even went into kiss him (yet) because he knew the blond's reaction would be less than positive. Joey needed time to get used to their new deal; there would be plenty of time to assert is affections later. (not that he wasn't going to try his damdest to convince him sooner) For now though it was enough just to be able to hold his puppy to him, embracing him loosely and letting his eyes roam over his beautiful form. His golden hair was messed up with his struggling, but then again it was always like that. It reflected the pup's feisty personality perfectly, as well as the ever burning fire in his eyes, which were the color of the richest honey.

Kaiba smirked when the fire lit once again in ferocity as Joey scowled at him, noticing his eyes raking over him. He started squirming again, helplessly pushing against Kaiba's chest, and Kaiba chuckled, really, his puppy could be so cute.

"If you would just settle down, you'll find that the ride isn't all that unpleasant, pup." He ruffled the untidy golden hair so it was even more so, and he felt a brief flicker of annoyance when Joey flinched away from his touch.

Then again, he had expected this; of course Joey was going to be confused and wary, let alone angry. After all, until Kaiba had come around, he was sure Joey had assumed that he was straight. Despite the not so subtle hints of several other males, much to Kaiba's chagrin (he still found it displeasing to think back and recall Valon, the Australian took a little too much pleasure in Joey's feisty attitude and stated so one too many times. Kaiba was the only one who could appreciate Joey's spunky attitude, no one else.)

As if to back up this statement, Kaiba's arms wrapped even more possessively around the blond's waist.

"Ey! Ey! Ey! Quit getting so grabby!" Joey tried to pry the brunet's hands off, but Kaiba merely smiled serenely, ah, there it was again.

And that was pretty much what the entire ride consisted of. Kaiba raging on past fools who dared to flirt with his puppy, who by the way was oblivious to each an every one of them, and Joey doing his best to either break out of Kaiba's grip, or convince him that he was certifiably insane.

When Kaiba however refused to acknowledge either of these, and the Limo finally pulled up to the front gate of the Kaiba manner, Joey did the only logical thing he could think of.

He booked it.

Into the mansion, and up the stairs, as far away as Kaiba as his legs could possibly carry him. He had no doubts that if he had tried to run out of the gates, Kaiba would have caught him, and grant him even less freedom than he already had. So, still technically honoring their deal, Joey bolted down hallway after hallway, until finally coming to a door and swinging himself inside it.

Normally, Joey would rather make out with Weevil Underwood (a/n O.o) than run and hide from Kaiba. Then again, their relationship used to solely consist on insults and dueling. Joey never had to worry about protecting his virtue amidst that, so there was never any reason for him to hightail it out of there. Now his 'worst enemy' quite obviously wanted much more than to beat him at a card game, and Joey wasn't quite sure if he wanted to figure out what lengths the CEO would go to get it.

He didn't lock the door behind him, because that would have pointed out his whereabouts right away. Instead, Joey glanced around the room he had declared temporary sanctuary in. A bathroom, good. There was like a thousand of them in this place. It would take weeks for Kaiba to find him if he handled this right.

Joey was about to climb into the towel closet, when he realized how fucking cliché that would be.

In the closet. haha. (1)

So, he finally ducked into the cupboard below the sink, which was just big enough for him to sit in if he folded his legs in to him. One of the only things he remembered in health class was that the average human could survive a month without food, but only three days without water. Well good, he had plenty of water being under a sink, and if worst came to worst, he supposed he could eat the soap. He'd wait out this entire month right here in this cupboard.

Joey sat there for a moment, mulling over his own thoughts, then let his head fall back and smack painfully against the wood. Oh, the pathetic thoughts of the desperate.

Kaiba stood rooted to the spot, staring at the spot that his puppy had been in seconds ago, but had since disappeared. His front door was left open to the world, swinging gently in the slight breeze of the night. He had heard doors slam in the puppy's wake as he made a mad dash through the mansion. Kaiba sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. Well, so much for things being settled. And he had been so looking forward to starting this bet off right, with a hot tub and a bowl of fruit.

But no, his puppy had to keep playing hard to get.

The young CEO straightened himself. Seto Kaiba never backed down from a challenge, and especially not this one. However long it took, whatever he had to do, he would prove he could make the pup fall for him just as hard as he had.

"You want to play hide and seek, Wheeler?" Kaiba muttered to himself, smirking at the staircase, "Fine."

He turned to the security guard stationed at the front, the same one who had seen when Joey first came through the mansion doors. He looked utterly perplexed, his sunglasses drooping over his nose as he gazed in the same direction that Joey had run to. It must have seemed as if a tiny blond tornado had blown straight through his watchful eye.

He was so getting fired...

He blinked when his boss said something, and he tried to adjust his appearance as best as he could, "Er, sorry sir, I didn't hear you."

Kaiba's ice cold eyes narrowed at the guard, he did not like reputing himself. But seeing as he didn't want to waste time finding a replacement, he didn't fire him, "Send Marie here and while you're at it, phone in Mokuba from his room. I need to talk to them both."

The guard did so, thankful that he was still earning the big bucks being a Kaiba employee, and soon enough Mokuba came trotting from upstairs (the opposite way Joey went) and Marie skipped in from the kitchens.

"So how'd it go?" she asked right away, rocking back and forth on her heels while Mokuba gave her a confused look.

"How'd what go, what's she talking about Seto?" He raised a dark eyebrow at the agitated look on his brother's face. He had seen that look before, when one of the staff had accidently misplaced the briefcase that held his entire deck somewhere in the Kaiba Corp building. Needless to say, that particular employee wasn't working for long. Kaiba hadn't shouted, or even really spoken out of the ordinary, but he had paced around his office for a good two hours, threw evil glaring looks at the phone while he waited for people to tell him they found the briefcase. It was not a good thing to be on the receiving end of it, and Mokuba wasn't sure if he should try and help his brother, or just stay out of his way.

"Err...Seto? You okay?" Mokuba opted for the former, reaching out a tentative hand to his brother's arm.

The older brunette didn't move away, but merely stood there, his eyes narrowed as if in deep through about what he was going to say.

He told Marie and Mokuba what happened at the Wheeler household, Marie growling like an angry mother bear when he described the oldest Wheeler and his actions. He kept the more explicit parts to an extremely watered down version for Mokuba's age, though, which didn't improve Marie's mood at all.

"**I'll kill hiiiiiimmmm..." **Marie snarled, her eyes glinting dangerously and gripping her mop so it quivered in her hand. Kaiba had no doubt that if he let her, she would indeed do just that to Joey's father, with a mop, and because he also got the impression that she could make even that a deadly weapon if she chose it to be.

He gave Mokuba a look, and the younger boy placed a hand on marines shoulder, "We can deal with that man later, Marie, Seto's probably planning something as we speak, right Seto?"

Seto smirked at his younger brother, and ruffled his hair, "I did before I even got here, but you're right, that isn't the issue right now."

"Where's Joey?" Marie asked curiously, having reverted back to her normal bubbly self seconds after Mokuba spoke.

Kaiba glared at the wall, feeling more than a little humiliated.

"He ran off as soon as we got here."

Mokuba blinked and cast a worried look around the mansion, which seemed a lot bigger all of the sudden, "You mean you lost him in your own house?"

Kaiba's eyes narrowed further, "He isn't lost, and I know he's here. I just don't know where _exactly_ he is."

Before Mokuba could roll his eyes and annoy his brother further, Marie hopped on top of the security guard desk and grabbed the intercom. The microphone system squeaked in protest for a moment when she cleared her throat.

"This is a Joey hunt! If anyone sees an adorable, dog like blond running around, please report his whereabouts to either the head maid, or the Kaiba brothers. We will keep you posted for further information, thank you!" she chirped, and the brothers could only stare at her in disbelief. Before they could say anything though, she planted her hands firmly on her hips.

"Well, what are you two gawking at me for, don't you want to find Joey? Master Kaiba, if you could stay down here and look, Master Mokuba and I will look upstairs."

Wondering how on earth he managed to hire such an utter psychopath (but a useful one) Kaiba nodded curtly and jogged into the first room on the left. Marie frog marched Mokuba up the stairs, singing, "A hunting we will go, a hunting we will go!"

Joey's legs were starting to seriously hurt him. He had sat crouched in this damn cupboard for the past hour, and he was already bored to death.

How the heck was he supposed to lass the whole month in here?

Glaring ruefully at the other side of the cupboard, Joey folded his arms and rested his head on top of them.

This was all Kaiba's fault. The brunet had finally lost it, probably one too many blasts from Yugi's monsters, and now Joey was getting sucked in this ride to the wacky shack too!

His mind wandered back to earlier, when Kaiba had pinned him against the wall of the alley, yet he had treated him so gently into he car, like he was made of glass. He felt his ears burn slightly when he accidentally thought of when Kaiba had started kissing his hand, which now hurt like hell by the way. He rubbed the split knuckles as if to rub away the pain as well as any lingering Kaiba germs.

_'What the fuck is that jerk thinking_!' he raved mentally, _'I mean I guess if it had been Yugi it would at least have made sense, I mean I guess some people find being defeated over and over again a turn on. But Yugi likes Tea; anyone with a fucking pulse could see that!_' Joey ruffled his hair in utter confusion and frustration.

_'It doesn't make any damn sense! Why on earth would Kaiba get the hots for ME? He hates me! And I ain't going to be serenading HIM anytime soon!_' Joey assured his own conscience, who had shrugged as if to say 'whatever, can we go get a burger or something? I'm starving_.'_

His stomach growled appreciatively at the idea of food other than soap, and Joey rubbed it sourly.

"I hate you Kaiba," he whined quietly, "Making me hide in here, with no food, or decent leg room."

Honestly, Joey would have taken ANYONE over Kaiba. Anyone! It'd be god damn swell to have Mai turn all creepy stalker on him, at least she was female, and didn't treat them like dirt most of the time. Heck, he'd even consider going out with Duke if he and Tristan ever broke up, not that he'd want that. He could tell his spiky hairdo friend was happier than he had ever been before.

And maybe, maybe if it was a choice between Kaiba and...

Joey suddenly had a horrible image of flowing white hair and a brim red suit, crazed little toons dancing around him and a high pompous laugh.

The blond shuddered, Okay no, he took that back. Even Kaiba was better than _HIM_.

Amidst his inner turmoil, Joey didn't register the opening of the bathroom door outside of the cupboard, and two voices conversing rather loudly.

"Doesn't look like he's in here either..." a young voice stated, and sighed.

"Wait, we haven't checked any of his potential hiding places yet!" a female answered accompanying a creaking sound, which was the towel closet opening.

"Nope, not in there." She answered her own question, and her black shoes made a clacking noise not he floor as she tapped them thoughtfully.

"Maybe we'd better go tell Seto..." The young one said, when there was a sudden whoosh of fabric landing just outside of the cupboard door.

"Hang on; let me try this one more time."

"What? Marie, we've tried that in every single room, even Joey's not stupid enough t-"

Suddenly there was a quick little rhythm of knocks being beaten into the cupboard

"**Thok-thok- thokthok- thok.**"

Joey was still so entranced in his own thoughts, that the only part of him that noticed this was his conscience. His conscience brightened.

_'Oh-oh! I know this one!'_

The recluse part of Joey's mind made the boy raise his hand and respond with a sound

"**Thunk-thunk.**" (2)

There was a giggle of approval, and a noise that sounded suspiciously like someone slapping their own forehead.

"You go and get Master Kaiba; I'll wait here and make sure he doesn't go anywhere."

"Kay..."

All was quiet after that, and Joey slowly registered what just happened, as his conscience had somehow filled him in.

'_Fuck_!' he screamed mentally, knowing that he was officially bagged.

As if to confirm his thoughts, he heard the bathroom door creak open once again, and slow decisive steps come towards his sanctuary.

Joey wrapped his arms around his head as if he was looking for a nuclear bomb about to be chucked at him, but he was surprised when there was a mere 'thud' of someone's back hitting the cupboard door as they sat against it. Joey thought with a last glimmer of hope that maybe Kaiba often took breaks in his bathroom to sit up against the cupboard.

"I know you're in there Wheeler."

Dammit.

The blond glared suspiciously at the source of the voice, and he tried to scoot as far from the doors as possible, his head knocked painfully into he s bend in of the pipes.

"I've heard that dogs find comfort in enclosed spaces, but isn't this going a bit far, pup?" Kaiba asked.

Joey crossed his arms, he wasn't even going to glorify that statement with a response, and it's all that Kaiba wanted. To make him respond, so he could once again talk circles around him and somehow convince him to come out of his last sanctuary.

Seeing his attempts weren't working, Kaiba gave a fake sigh, "Perhaps I was wrong, maybe my puppy isn't in there."

Joey cast a suspicious look at the doors, knowing Kaiba couldn't possibly believe his own words.

"But if he were, "Kaiba continued with a devious smirk, "I'd ask if all of his shyness stemmed from him still being a virgin."

Joey felt his face inflame, and suddenly he was bursting head first out of the door Kaiba wasn't leaning on.

"That's none of your damn business!" His voice cracked in embarrassment, and he froze when his eyes came in contact with Kaiba's cool gloating ones. Well fuck him; he just gave himself away _again!_

Having nothing else that he could do, Joey retracted his head and slammed the cupboard door as loud as he could, and Kaiba gave an exasperated sigh.

"Really, Wheeler, you aren't honoring our bet at all."

"I never AGREED to it!" Joey's muffled yell made Kaiba snort in amusement, "You just started groping me before I could punch your lights out, then next thing I know I'm back here, where you could rape me anytime you want!"

Kaiba pinched the bridge of his nose again in frustration, "I believe I told you once before mutt, and I don't like repeating myself, that I would, nor ever will, rape you. I love you too much."

There was a frustrated groaning sound from inside ego the cupboard and Kaiba smirked, knowing Joey was listening but was wishing he couldn't.

"No, I won't make you go all the way until I know that you love me back, and trust me pup, I've watched you long enough to read you like an open book. You won't be able to hide it from me."

"Not if I stay in this cupboard all month!" Joey boasted, and his conscience whined, '_but that means no cheeseburger!'_

Kaiba raised an eyebrow and Joey could sense the smug look on his face rather than see it, "You're going to crouch inside of a dark, damp cupboard with nothing but shampoo and soap to eat, when I can give you _so_ much more?"

Joey tensed, when he noticed the abrupt change from arrogance to husky Kaiba's voice had taken.

"I want you to enjoy yourself, pup," Kaiba continued despite the blond's lack of response, "I want you to have a better life than you could ever have with that...person." Kaiba spat, as if it took great effort to admit Joey's father was in fact a human being. It made Joey's adamancy of hating the boy lesson just a bit.

"I want you to be able to eat good food, and enjoy it. I want to buy you clothes that will actually fit and suit you. I want to help each and every scar you have healed. I want to be the one to give you all that, and much more, Mutt."

Joey's face was growing more and more heated with each declaration. Kaiba truly did sound sincere, but the blond knew that the young CEO could be a damn good liar when he wanted to be. He had to admit, if he was a girl, Kaiba would be doing a damn good job of convincing him. Even as a boy, the bastard was making him question if hiding in the cupboard was really the right choice.

Damn him.

"Would you like me to tell you just what else I plan to do pup?" Kaiba asked.

"I have feeling you'll tell me even if I say no." Joey replied dryly from inside the cupboard, and Kaiba chuckled.

"Well, I think I'll keep most of it as a surprise, but I will tell you this. Some of it will involve that tub that's in this bathroom in my wing. Along with you, and lots of bubbles, and me, touching and scrubbing each and every-"

"Ah-lalala I'm not listening! Not listening anymore!" Joey interrupted, his face now impossibly red, and blocking his ears, while Kaiba chuckled once again.

Sensing the danger of angering his puppy was over for now; Kaiba chanced moving to his knees, and opening the cupboard doors.

There was his cute little pup, all curled up in there with his pink face buried in his arms. But he smirked when he saw a brown eye peek out at him suspiciously.

He reached in and offered him a hand, "Come on out, pup. I promise I'd never do anything to hurt you."

Joey narrowed his eyes at the hand. "I'm not a damn dog" he grumbled, but nonetheless, he gripped it and used it to help pull himself out of the small space. His legs were asleep though, so they swayed dangerously under him.

Kaiba was quick though, and seized the blond around the waist, pulling him closer than Joey was necessarily comfortable with.

"I can handle standing myself," Joey said between gritted teeth.

"Really, Wheeler," Kaiba grinned, "It's perfectly natural. Lots of people go weak at the knees when they see me."

Joey attempted to shove him away, but Kaiba wouldn't let go, merely pressed his forehead against the blond's so he could stare into hose honey colored eyes some more. He smiled unexpectedly and gently kissed the top of Joey's nose.

There was a loud squeal that made both of them jump, though, and suddenly Marie fell face first out of the towel closet.

"M-m-miss Marie?" Joey shouted, and Kaiba enjoyed the adorable, flustered look he had.

"Oh darn it, my bad guys," she waved apologetically, as if she really had caused some horrible offense of interrupting them...wait a moment.

"What the hell were you doing in the closet?" Kaiba asked, glaring at his maid even though it would have no effect on her.

Marie smiled sheepishly, "just some spring cleaning." she said slyly, before sidestepping then dashing out the door,

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do without protection!" she shouted on her way, and Kaiba buried his face in his hands. He wished for the first time in a while that he could fire her, but he knew his life and the house would fall to shambles if he did.

**Kisa: Smut! (shakes me back and forth.)**

**Me: I-I know, next chapter, I promise! Stop shaking me!**

**Joey: No really, that's okay, take your time.**

**Kaiba: hmm, perhaps we should give them a teaser.. (grabs Joey around his waist, then grinds hips into his.)**

**Joey: Waagh! (falls over in surprise, Kaiba on top.**

**Kisa: Oh my X3**

**Me: Aggh! My virgin eyes! (covers eyes and runs away, smacking head on walls while doing so)**

**(1) If you don't get the inuendo, then i don't think i can help you, look up 'in the closet on urban dictionary' maybe?**

**(2) you've probably heard this rythm at least once in your life, kinda generic.**


	7. Property of Seto Kaiba

**Someone said something in a review last chapter that really interested me! They called you my yami, Kisa!**

**Kisa: (grins and jabs thumb in my direction) You just made her day, Eponine243.**

**Me: I have a yami, I'm like Yugi! XD! Spleee!**

**Kisa: …**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh.**

Joey could smell the fresh cotton sheets underneath him; how fresh they were. He stretched out as far as he possibly could, enjoying the feeling of sheet no matter how far he did. If he had been home, he would have fallen out of bed and he'd have to smell the carpet that smelled like soda and B.O. Not to mention the smell of cigarettes from the floor below.

Someone must have opened the blinds while he was still sleeping because he could feel the morning sunlight warming his face and turning the vision behind his eyelids red. He opened them just a bit, only to be blinded by said light. He groaned a bit and reached behind him, grabbing one of the soft downy pillows and burying his head underneath it.

Being spring, the mornings were still chilly, so he yanked the blankets till they touched underneath his chin, completely encasing him in a warm, soft cocoon. Now surrounded by the sweet smell of the sheets and their warmth, as well as the welcomed darkness, Joey was beginning to let his mind wander back into slumber. Then there was a sound of a door creaking open and shut.

The blond boy tensed for a split second, then forced himself to relax, to which his mind happily obliged.

'Probably Marie, coming to grab laundry or sometin,' he mumbled mentally, pressing his face further into the soft mattress. Sleepy, so sleepy…

He could hear the sound of muffled chuckling, but he couldn't find the energy to care, so long as the owner of the laughter didn't try and drag him out of bed.

"Time for school, Mutt."

School, there was a word he hadn't thought about for a while. He didn't like having to, honestly. He made sure the owner of the voice knew this.

"Mnerrrgg…" he groaned out, turning on his side away from the voice and wiggling his cocoon away from it so he was resting on the slightly cooler side of the bed, where his body's warmth had neglected the night before.

There was another chuckle, and then the bed shifted a bit, and the weight on the mattress deepened as someone other than Joey climbed into it. Again, Joey dismissed it, so long as they didn't bother him and let him sleep.

It's a terrible thing, to go from warm, relaxed, and sleepy to jumping out of your own skin. Joey discovered this for himself, when he was startled out of his subconscious when a long arm wrapped around his waist and pulled him into something hard and smooth.

His eyes snapped open. His limbs flailed of their own accord, but, unfortunately, this did little to nothing, because his limbs were still wrapped in his 'cocoon.'

"W-what the hell?" Joey screamed, kicking his legs the little distance the sheets would allow and swinging his balled fists in a panic, until someone patiently caught them.

"Good morning to you too." The voice was deep, and slightly raspy. It probably belonged to someone who did not usually spare words unless they were insults or orders.

Joey knew that voice, and his efforts to break free of the hands redoubled. Finally, he was able to sit up, so he at least had more leverage and could turn to look at his attacker.

There was Kaiba, smirking at him like he knew exactly what would happen and already dressed in his school uniform. He was leaning back on his hands, propping himself so he could observe the blond comfortably.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Joey's voice cracked in his panic, and Kaiba's smirk increased, "I told you last night, stay the hell outta my room or I'll beat the living crap outta ya!"

Kaiba folded his arms conceitedly, "Ah, so the puppy likes it rough?"

Joey could feel the warmth rise into his face and he snarled at his 'captor.'

"Shut up ya damn prick, that's not what I meant and ya know it!"

Kaiba didn't bother answering, merely reached forward and pulled Joey back into his arms before the younger had the chance to flee. Joey squawked in protest and struggled against his grip, but Kaiba had no trouble whatsoever pulling him in so he was resting his back against the brunet's chest.

"What's wrong with the master wanting to say good morning to his puppy?" he whispered into Joey's ear, blowing in it sensually. Joey squeaked in alarm, the blood rushing further into his face and his hands hopelessly trying to dislodge Kaiba's arms from around him.

Kaiba only hugged him tighter, thoroughly enjoying himself, "You're lucky I'm an early riser, or else we'd both be late to school. Breakfast will be on the go, so you'll need to hurry up and get dressed."

Joey gave up trying to bite his way out of the CEO's vice grip, as his arms were too far down to reach, "Fine, let me go and get out so I can!"

Kaiba touched his lips to the upper ridge of Joey's ear, so when he made a thoughtful noise in his throat, it made the vibrations tingle pleasantly on the sensitive cartilage. Joey fidgeted, finding the strength to break out of Kaiba's grasp slowly ebbing away. His ears had always been one of the most sensitive parts of his body, but only Serenity knew that. He tried to shove the older boy's head away, or at least move his own, but he found out, unfortunately, that at this angle he could not effectively do so with his arms. And when he moved, Kaiba would simply blow air on his neck so that his head would snap up again to shield it.

"First," Kaiba said finally, nibbling on Joey's earlobe despite the blond's protests, "I have something to give you, pup."

Joey wasn't given the opportunity to ask what it was, because Kaiba began a full out attack on his ears. While one arm kept the blond's body firmly in place, the other reached up to fondle Joey's other ear, scratching behind it and tracing the shell forward and back again.

"Ngh!" Joey gave a startled noise of embarrassment when he felt something warm and wet gently glide around the shell of the opposite ear, which Kaiba's mouth still occupied. The constant blowing and nibbling was clouding the blond's mind, his vision going blurry. He felt the heat creep up into his face, He didn't want it to, but if felt really, _really _good. His head fell back to rest on Kaiba's shoulder,

"G-get…off…" he managed to utter weakly only to hear Kaiba chuckle again. He briefly registered that the other arm had unwound itself from his waist, but he couldn't find the strength to move away. Kaiba had taken to latching onto his earlobe and sucking on it gently.

He didn't even notice the fingers fiddling with something near his neck, until it was around him and it gave a gentle click. It was rough, like burlap, and there was something cold and mettle jingling on the front of it. Kaiba immediately stopped his torture of the blond's ears, and stood, examining his handy work as the euphoria he caused lifted off of the puppy.

"The fuck?" Joey muttered, still a bit dazed as he touched the metal thing. It was oval in shape, and he could feel the rough ridges of something engraved there, but could not read it from this angle.

Kaiba grinned sadistically; it was a perfect fit. Joey seemed to realize it at the same time he did.

"Get this damn thing off of me Kaiba!" Joey immediately screamed, jumping forward and seizing the rich boy by the shirt, glaring hatefully at him.

Around Joey's neck was a small, brown collar, a gold dog tag hanging off of it reading:

"**Joey Wheeler. Property of Seto Kaiba.**"

It wasn't very subtle, but then again, when was Kaiba known for being subtle?

Kaiba shrugged, still with that smug grin on his face, "I'm afraid not, Wheeler. If I did, who would know who your master is? If I lost you, I might just lose track of you."

Joey had taken to tugging at the collar, clawing at it, and growling in a rather canine like way, "Fuck you! I ain't' going to school with this thing on me! Yugi and the others might see it!"

Kaiba smirked darkly,

"Precisely."

Joey looked like he wanted to continue to yell at him, but Kaiba merely looked at his watch.

"We've got ten minutes until the limo leaves."

Joey shouted obscenities at him, and only continued to do so once he had shoved him through the door of his room, slamming it shut, only to open again ten seconds later, with the blond fully dressed. When he said fully dressed, he meant FULLY dressed.

Instead of letting his jacket hang open lazily (but in a way that was clearly Joey) the whole uniform was buttoned all the way to the top, like it was supposed to be. Effectively hiding the collar from sight.

"I'll deal with it later, believe me," the blond hissed as he shoved past the satisfied brunet.

Following the stomping younger boy down the stairs, Kaiba smirked.

This was going to be fun. Just wait until Joey discovered all the little perks Kaiba had added to the collar Marie had given to him. With some slight alterations, he had made the small piece of fabric into something much more.

Once they dropped off Mokuba at his school, Joey tried to get the driver to let him off a block before, so no one would see him riding to school with Kaiba. Kaiba however, soundly declined his request and Joey was left to stare nervously out the window, where his friends were waiting for him along with Kaiba's usual crowd of fan girls waiting to see their prince. Some prince he was!

Yugi's head cocked to the side in confusion, when Joey climbed out of the limo, only increasing his pace when Kaiba discreetly pinched his butt. He scrambled away to the shelter of his friends, while Kaiba seemed to glide out of his car. His posture was perfect, his head held high and focused. His usually cold expression returned to its normal scowl as he stepped into the normal thrall of fan girls.

"Get away from me," he had no trouble commanding, shoving his way out of the giggling mass.

Joey, who was currently ducking behind a bush equal to the height of Yugi, sighed in relief. It looked like Kaiba was at least going to treat him like he normally did at school. He didn't think he could handle it if he started touching him in front of his friends. Not only would Yugi and Tea be thoroughly confused, but Tristan would assure him under no uncertain terms that he had some 'splainin to do.

"What was that all about Joey?" Yugi asked, his big purple eyes widening at the sight of the blond's now fading black eye, "What happened to you? Did Kaiba beat you up?"

Joey scratched behind his head nervously, climbing out of the bush, "Nah, the bastard wouldn't know what hit him if he tried. I just fell down the stairs at my place, no big deal."

He ignored the pointed look Tristan was giving him. True, none of his friends knew where he lived, nor would they ever, but Tristan was the only one who knew what his father was like. Due to circumstances beyond the blond's control, his spiky haired friend had found out, and he forced the truth out of him.

The good thing about Tristan was that unlike Yugi or Tea, he wouldn't force Joey to get help or move, he let him deal with it because that was the way Joey preferred things. He did however offer him refuge at his house every now and again, as well as give him a worried look whenever he showed up to school with fresh bandages on him and what not.

Joey thought ruefully that he might not hate Kaiba so much if he could be a little like Tristan, passive and easily distracted with another boy… speaking of which.

Duke sauntered up from behind, slinging an arm over his boyfriend's shoulder, "So what's this I hear about Kaiba giving you a ride in his limo?"

Joey gulped nervously, and looked around him for inspiration, "Er…"

"I don't see why it's important how or why it happened," Tea offered, thoughtfully, "The fact that it happened is a good enough. Maybe Kaiba is human after all. Right Yugi?"

Yugi looked up at her, the adoration in his purple eyes not missed by anyone except for him and the subject of his affection.

"Yeah," he nodded cheerfully, "Kaiba probably just gave Joey a ride because they were both running late.

Ever the optimistic pair, both continued to chatter on about the past while Tristan and Duke gave the blond a skeptical look. Before they could comment further though, the bell rung, and they all had to sprint so as not to be late for class.

"See ya later, Joey!" Duke called, slapping him on the shoulder. Both boys were surprised when a painful jolt shot through the contact, and Duke hastily withdrew his hand.

"Whoa," he mumbled while Joey shook his head in surprise, "Talk about static…"

And so on the day went, each time Joey walked in the halls, and bumped into another person, a small shock would flit into his system, and it was really starting to tick him off. No human could possibly attract this much static.

It was when lunch rolled around, and Tristan had grabbed him playfully in a headlock, that one huge shock coursed through them both, causing them both to yelp and jump away from each other in pain.

"What the hell?" Tristan said, giving a bewildered look towards his friend.

Joey ruffled his hair in frustration, "I don't know, man! Something ain't kosher here!"

His friends stared after him worriedly when he grabbed his backpack and tossed it over his shoulder.

"I'm goin to da john quick, don't wait up for me, see ya in class!"

Tearing through the halls, which were thankfully empty at this point, he swung himself into the bathroom, checking briefly if it was empty, then shut himself quickly into a stall.

Ripping open his jacket and gasping a breath of relief (it was so damn hot dressing like this!) he reached up to feel the collar. Aha!

The fabric was slightly warm, like the hood of a car would be after the engine had been running for a while. This was the source of all the shocks before. Kaiba had done something with it to mess with him. So now he couldn't touch anyone without it sending a little electric stream through him.

"That's it!" he hollered, clawing blindly behind him for the clasp, but finding to his dismay that there was no clasp, just a little key hole. Three guesses as to who had the key.

Joey groaned and let his head fall heavily into the stall door, causing a dull 'thud' to reverberate through the room. The collar was made of burlap, it would be easy enough to cut. But he didn't have a pocket knife (being school) and to use school scissors meant exposing the collar to his peers. He shuddered, no way in hell was that gonna happen.

He stuffed his hands into his pockets moodily, wracking his brain for an idea when his fingers brushed something metallic and pointy in his pocket, it jangled slightly at the movement.

His eyes snapped open, an idea!

He pulled out his spare house key, which had somehow survived the washing machine at Kaiba's and remained faithfully in his pocket. This would do fine.

He used the key's teeth to roughly cut through the collar, slowly working through as it continued to fray. He grinned with satisfaction when he was able to snap the mechanical part of it in half, thus ending the electric shocks for good, and continue to cut himself free.

When it finally drooped away from his neck, he gave a triumphant "Ha!" and unceremoniously dropped it in the toilet, snickering when the mechanics buzzed and flickered as they were drowned.

"Take that, Kaiba," he muttered, strolling out of the bathroom with his jacket open, feeling incredibly pleased with himself. It was about time he won a round against the prick anyway.

Apparently the brunet did not like losing. His cold blue eyes narrowed dangerously when he saw the blond enter the room, his jacket wide open and very much without his trusty collar.

Joey took his normal seat next to Yugi, ignoring the daggers Kaiba was staring through him. He did however give a brief flick of his middle finger in his direction. Kaiba gritted his teeth. Oh yes, his puppy was going to PAY for that one.

The teacher walked in a moment later, a portly man whose hairline was receding with age.

"Quiet down, now," he said, tapping his desk with a ruler so everyone directed their attention to him, "Before I start class today, I should let you know that due to the steady decrease in quiz scores, I'll be assigning each of you a different seat."

There was a groan of protest and the old man smirked. Hey, he had to go through it as a kid, so now it was their turn. One of the few perks of being a teacher.

Yugi ended up way across to the other side of the room, his back to Joey, who had been moved all the way to the back, to the desk next to the one that was tucked in the corner. Well at least it was near a window…

His mouth collapsed open when he heard the teacher call out Kaiba's name, as well as assign him the seat right next to his.

"No!" Joey jumped out of his seat, hitting his knees on the desk painfully but too panicked to notice, "Teach, I can't sit next to him!"

The old man spared him a glance, before turning to the board once again to write out that day's formula.

"Mr. Kaiba is one of the brightest students in this class, I'm sure you'll be able to pick _something_ up while you're sitting together."

Joey opened his mouth to protest further, but the teacher glared at him.

"That's my final decision, Mr. Wheeler."

Joey hung his head, and sat heavily back in his seat when he heard Kaiba approaching. He pointedly avoided his gaze. Dammit dammit DAMMIT!

Kaiba moved behind Joey to get to his seat, brushing his ear in passing so it wasn't noticeable to anyone but the blond himself.

Joey jumped and glared at Kaiba, rubbing his ear apprehensively. Kaiba let his lip twitch upwards in amusement, before he sat in his seat, opening his notebook but having no intention of taking notes. He had mastered these types of problems before this teacher even heard of them. Time to have some fun, and get some questions answered.

"Where's your collar, Mutt?" Kaiba murmured. Thankfully, they were far enough back and over so no one but Joey could hear Kaiba. Everyone else was too busy getting used to their new seating partners anyway.

"I ain't no mutt, bastard, that's exactly the point," Joey hissed back, and Kaiba chuckled.

"You may deny it as much as you want, I daresay I find it entertaining, not to mention adorable."

Joey gave him a withering look.

"But you will always be a dog to me, Wheeler." Kaiba's hand had found a new resting place on the blond's thigh, "My incredibly naïve and feisty puppy."

Joey's eyes bugged out when he felt Kaiba's touch. Oh god, he couldn't be doing this, not here.

"Don't touch me!" he hissed again, grabbing Kaiba's hand and throwing it off. He jumped again when Kaiba merely started to trail a finger up and down his upper leg, making the younger boy squirm and fidget in his seat, "Quit it!"

Thank god, thanks to their placement, no one could see what Kaiba's hands were currently doing. Joey's incessant wriggling as well as the glares he was throwing the other boy's way, however, caught the teacher's eye on numerous occasions.

"Something wrong, Mr. Wheeler?" he asked, and the class turned to stare at him curiously.

Joey gulped nervously, feeling the heat rise in his cheeks but unable to move away while Kaiba's hand continued to wander around his left side. Alternating between poking his side to squeezing his ass or rubbing his thigh.

"I, er, have to use the bathroom. _Bad_!" He added more urgently when Kaiba's hand daringly inched closer and closer up his inner thigh.

The teacher sighed exasperatedly, "You should have gone before class began."

Joey stifled a squeak when Kaiba's hand scratched a finger at the blond's lower hip, where the leg met the joint, too close; he had to get out of here NOW!

"I didn't have to go then!" he shouted, making the other students snicker. Yugi raised an eyebrow at him questioningly.

The teacher sighed again, before whipping out a pass, "Fine, but be q-"

Joey was at his side in seconds, and Kaiba let his arm drop back to his side with a smirk. No one looked his way to see if it was his doing, making the blond retreat from class faster than normal. No one suspected a thing.

Kaiba opened his laptop, as he was allowed to do in classes should he feel it necessary, and pulled up a small window. A blinking red light stayed stationary in one of the school lavatories.

Peculiar, most peculiar. The chip he had planted in the collar should be tracking his puppy's movements, and there was no way the blond could have made it to that particular bathroom, no matter what superhuman speeds he seemed to have.

Kaiba narrowed his eyes; he would have to investigate further.

/

Joey gasped for breath when he finally allowed himself to skid to a halt, nearly crashing into the Kaiba's gigantic refrigerator. He had run full force all the way from school, refusing to take the car with Kaiba again. He had never gone back to that class, once he had left. He just hid inside of the bathroom, trying to will away the redness in his face. He refused to believe that he was actually getting _turned on _by his worst enemy.

After catching his breath, the young duelist shrugged off his jacket and reached into the freezer, grabbing a carton of whatever he could get his hands on. Thank goodness Mokuba lived here too; a kid meant a healthy supply of ice cream.

He let his back slide down the fridge and he sat cross legged after retrieving a spoon and began digging into the cold treat. He felt he deserved it after all he had endured today. And he was about to get much more.

He heard a door slam towards the front of the house, along with steady determined footsteps. Unwilling to run away but not wanting to be found, Joey tried to make himself as small as possible against the fridge, the cold spoon hanging from his mouth and clutching the carton to him.

The kitchen door slammed open, and the inevitable occurred. Kaiba's normally ice cold eyes smoldered before him in anger. The brunet marched into the room, his eyes demanding continuous contact with Joeys' honey brown ones. Without a word, he tossed something small and wet onto the counter so it skidded into Joeys' view.

It was whatever remained of the collar.

Joey gulped, letting the spoon drop from his mouth and into the carton. Uh-oh.

"Well, well, Wheeler." Kaiba's voice was quiet, but dangerous, "Look what I found."

The young blond's eyes darted between the defeated looking piece of burlap and Kaiba. He felt his stomach turn unpleasantly when he saw the anger burning in Kaiba's eyes. Oh, he was in _so _much _trouble._

Joey, despite this realization, felt his lips twitch into an uneasy grin, and he leaped to his feet, dropping the carton as he went. The spoon fell with a noisy clatter.

Kaiba however was too quick for him, and, before Joey could make his escape out of the kitchen, he had tackled him to the ground.

"Get offa me!" Joey shouted, writhing in an attempt to dislodge the brunet, who was making himself comfortable on the boy's hips. He hadn't planned on this happening; he just figured Kaiba would beat him up or something.

Kaiba ignored him, still incredibly angry that the collar he had worked hard to make was now ruined. He would no longer be able to keep other people from touching his puppy if he wasn't there. It had taken a while to figure out the frequencies so that they would shock anyone who wasn't himself, leaving when he touched Joey out of the equation.

He had big plans for that collar and the younger boy, but now everything had, quite literally, gone down the toilet.

In his thoughts, Joey had taken an instinctive swing at his face, which Kaiba dodged smoothly, but narrowly. He growled and without another word grabbed both of the boy's wrists and pinned them on either side of him.

Joey glared up at him and had opted to kick his legs helplessly. "Was the matta Kaiba?" he snapped, his snarky grin widening, "Can't stand it when someone fights back?"

It was Kaiba's turn to smirk, and Joey faltered nervously. He felt his head smack against the tile floor in his attempt to back up, and then Kaiba lowered his head dangerously close.

"On the contrary, pup," he purred, making the heat rise in Joey's face against his wishes, "I find it quite refreshing. You know how much I like a challenge."

Joey snarled and looked away in a huff, "So ya get turned on when I insult ya? You sick bastard."

Kaiba chuckled sadistically, "Funny you should say that, Wheeler." He lowered himself even further, so that his nose just barely brushed Joey's. Joey made a nervous sound in his throat. "Because I feel that due to your behavior, you should receive some form of… _punishment_" He whispered the last word.

Joey didn't like the predatory gleam that had overtaken Kaiba's eyes. He thought briefly this must be what ice cream feels like when he's staring down at it, spoon ready to plunge into him.

Oh god, bad wording, BAD WORDING!

Kaiba blinked when Joey started tossing his head side to side frantically, like he was trying to fling off an irksome fly. He was biting his lip embarrassedly, and Kaiba couldn't help but watch as they changed from a pale pink to red due to the pressure. They looked so... delicious.

It was hard to believe that Kaiba hadn't claimed those lips when the pup had always been right under his nose. He knew in any relationship, the first kiss was one of the most important. But it was hard enough to get Joey to sit still for an embrace, let alone so Kaiba could kiss him.

But here he was, underneath him, cheeks flushed and so wonderfully trapped in his grasp. He could show Joey just how good kisses could be, when one knew what they were doing.

Joey squeaked when Kaiba's breathe puffed against his lips so close. His heart started beating hard enough to jump right out of his ribcage, and he thrashed in panic.

"Kaiba don't you d-"

"Big brother!"

A child's cry made both boys freeze, and the pounding of feet made both of them look towards the kitchen door. For a third time that day, the door was slammed alarmingly against the wall. Poor door.

Mokuba skidded into the room, looking excited,

"The new capsule monster's game is out, can we go….get…" He trailed off, staring down at his brother's current position on top of his friend.

"Uh…"

**Kisa: Hmm, well there's a mood killer for ya.**

**Me: And look, I actually wrote something other than fluff!**

**Kisa: (sighs) you're getting there.**

**Joey: Where's my damn ice cream?**

**Kaiba: (smirks while holding carton) you can have it back if you let me feed it to you…**

**Lil1diva: I like that plan!**

**Joey: I don't!**

**Me: Well, read and review please!**


	8. A new approach

**Hey guys, sorry it took so long to update last time. If you're wondering what happened, fanfiction had some glitches that they took a while to fix, but it's all better now. Thanks' fanfiction! And thank you to all of my readers who stuck by even through the long wait, I know how frustrating it is.**

**Kisa: Oh sure, you're all cheery now. And you call ME the dark half of you. (when duckie-chan get's mad, all hell breaks loose.) O.O**

**Lil1diva: I agree**

**Me: teehee FEAR ME! BTW, just got some great news I'VE BEEN ACCEPTED TO MONTSERRATE COLLEGE OF ART! Fweee! With an 8,000 dollar scholarship!**

**Kisa: (pats head) yes yes, we're all very proud of her. Now get going with the story.**

**Me: fine, enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh.**

For a good half an hour, Joey, in a flustered tizzy, did his best to convince Mokuba that Kaiba was in fact NOT straddling and trying to force him into a lip lock.

They were actually fighting. Yup. And Kaiba had tried to suffocate Joey… with his face…

Uh huh.

Mokuba indulged the blond however and nodded his head, "Alright then, no more fighting okay Joey, okay, Seto?"

Seto was leaning against the counter with his arms crossed, cool and collected as usual while Joey was combing a hand through his hair taking deep calming breaths. He had been in quite a few stressful situations today after all.

Mokuba grinned at his older brother apologetically, knowing he had probably ruined his chances of getting to first base with Joey. His quick little mind soon came up with a plan to make it up to him, though.

The raven haired boy rocked back and forth on his heels innocently, holding his hands behind his back, "Sooo, can we go?"

"Go where Mokuba?" Seto asked wearily, rubbing his temples. Chasing the blond around figuratively and physically was beginning to give him a migraine.

Mokuba gave his older brother the biggest, cutest, wide-eyed stare he could manage, "To the mall, to get the new capsule monsters game! You know it's my favorite!"

Seto huffed and looked away, not because he was angry, but because he could not take the penetrating stare of his baby brother. The force was strong with this one. (**a/n lol, sorry couldn't resist.)**

"I don't know Mokuba, I'm really not in-"

"But Seto!" Mokuba increased his attack power by making his lower lip tremble slightly, "This one's one of the most powerful they've ever had! I just _gotta_ play it!" Mokuba cast a look over to Joey, who was watching the whole exchange as if he were watching TV, caught between feeling awkward and intrusive, but also interested to see how it played out.

"Besides!" Mokuba said with a cheeky grin "It'd give Joey and you the chance to get closer together, learn more about each other you know?"

Joey's mouth dropped open and he gaped at the younger Kaiba. Was he in on the bet too?

He was about to ask as such when all three boys heard a disturbance in the hallway. Someone was approaching the kitchen, but singing at the same time.

"Singing our song, all day long at-" was all they heard when Marie burst through the door with a feather duster held to her face like a microphone,

"!"

All three openly stared, though they weren't exactly surprised at the maid's behavior.

"What the hell are you doing Marie?" Kaiba asked rubbing his temple as his head throbbed harder.

"You've never heard of Potter Puppet Pals?" Marie asked, cocking her magenta head to the side while all three boys shook their heads no, "Le Gasp!"

Joey lifted himself so he could sit comfortably on the counter while Kaiba filled Marie in on the current predicament. The maid's demeanor brightened even more.

"Perfect! I'm due for my monthly pay anyways, so let's all go!"

The kooky maid giggled madly and nearly flew out of the room, Mokuba in tow, "I'll get the liiimmooo!"

Kaiba had frozen, his hand held out in an effort to stop his maid, but all he could do was sigh. She was unstoppable like a tornado. He didn't even know why he tried anymore.

He heard someone quietly snickering and he looked up to glare at Joey, "and what is so amusing, mutt?"

Joey grinned at him, looking pleasantly surprised and a little bit mischievous.

"I never thought I'd see it, "Joeys aid shrugging, "Mokuba's got you wrapped right around his little finger."

Kaiba snorted, how ridiculous, he could say no to Mokuba whenever he wanted to… he just never wanted to say no.

"As if it isn't the same way with you and your sister, Wheeler."

Joey smiled slightly, thinking of his precious little sister. It had been a while since he'd seen her last. He wondered briefly if she was enjoying her newfound sight as much as he hoped she would. He had worked hard to give her that.

"Yeah…" he said , rubbing the back of his neck thoughtfully, "Guess you're right about that, rich boy."

Kaiba blinked and looked at Joey. That was probably the first civil thing Joey had said to him since… well… since he had kidnapped him in the first place. Er, I mean, rescued him from the rain.

Joey seemed to notice this himself and he glared suspiciously at the brunet.

"Don't think this means we're getting chummy though. I still don't like ya."

Kaiba shrugged. He still had 29 days to change all of that, and he'd do anything to do so. If that meant waiting a little longer in taking what he so desperately wanted, he'd do so. He had a feeling that backing the mutt into a corner was the wrong thing to do, but he could he help it if that was the way he usually went about things. Not only in the business world and dueling, but now in his love life.

Kaiba pushed himself off of the corner and walked towards the door, turning towards Joey expectantly.

Joey kept a wary eye on him as he inched along the wall and out the door in front of Kaiba.

The brunet gave an exasperated sigh. He'd have to reassess his whole strategy. All of the techniques he had learned from Gozaburo were all wrong for this area, and he'd have to abandon them if he ever wanted to win his puppy's love. (**lil1diva: Kaiba's normal approach is useless here.**)

Later on, at the mall

Joey had never really spared much time for the mall. He never really had the money to spend at the mall, so why go? Normally his little group of friends would keep themselves to the confines of the kame game shop or each other's houses. This was why, when all four of them entered the wide automatic doors and the glittering floors of the establishment beckoned them inside, Joey felt his mouth fall open for the second time that day.

The mall had two levels, and yet there was a glass elevator standing right between two escalators. Okay seriously, what was the point of that, to flaunt how much money the place had?

Kaiba nonchalantly handed his younger brother a fifty and the raven haired boy gave a shout of happiness,

"Go have fun. But stay with Marie. I'll give you a call when it's time to go." Kaiba said, and Mokuba nodded vigorously.

Next, the brunet turned to Marie, whose eyes were sparkling once again as she practically bounced in place due to anticipation. He handed her a twenty with a resolute sigh.

"Do not scar my brother with your 'monthly wage'. And keep an eye on him."

Marie saluted and was soon pulled away by Mokuba.

"Come on Marie, let's go!"

Marie giggled and ran beside the boy, so it was hard to tell who was the adult and who was the kid, "Let's go to the arcade after we shop!"

"That's not a good idea. We don't want a repeat of the 'pacman' incident"

"When'd you turn into my wife?" Marie responded with a huff. "And no one ever proved that was me!"

Joey sweat-dropped while Kaiba started walking away as fast as he could. The longer he could pretend he didn't know the woman, the better. Joey, never finding out what he was supposed to do while Kaiba shopped, trotted after him.

"What did you mean by 'don't scar my brother with your monthly wage?'" he asked curiously, and Kaiba rolled his eyes.

"In exchange for all she does, I give her room and board, as well as money to buy boy love novels once a month."

Joey shuddered, "Oh."

One the brunet determined he was a safe distance away, so as not to be associated with whatever Marie would end up doing, he stopped. There was a peaceful looking little fountain in front of them and Joey sat on the edge.

"So I guess I'll wait here for you all ta get back," he said cleaning out his ears. Kaiba turned to stare down at him with a raised eyebrow.

"What are you talking about pup?"

Joey blinked and narrowed his eyes in confusion, "No, what are _you _talking about. Didn't ya need to go shopping?"

Kaiba gave a conceited wave of the hand, "I rarely go somewhere public to buy what I need, as it is usually exclusive and can only be imported from the best in the world."

Joey rolled his eyes and mimicked the brunet's movements behind his back, though adding a comical effeminate flair to them, so it looked more like an imitation of Pegasus than Kaiba.

"Anyway," Kaiba said darkly, having a strange feeling he was being ridiculed and not appreciating it at all, "I came here for you."

That threw the blond for a loop. He blinked and cocked his head to the side, "Me? Why?"

Kaiba turned once again with that condescending look. He reached forward and tugged at the sleeve of Joey's denim jacket. It was frayed at the edges, and the t-shirt he had under it was no longer white but now a sort of pale yellow due to age. There were also a few tiny holes that could not miss the brunet's keen vision. His jeans were torn at the knees and were muddy at the ankles. In short, his outfit was a mess.

"Your choice of dress is atrocious, Wheeler. That and you have maybe two in your possession. So we're going to get you more suitable clothing to wear."

Joey stood up hurriedly and back away from Kaiba, glaring at him,

"There's nothing wrong with my clothes, they do da job just fine! And I got plenty more at home, but you won't let me go get them!"

Kaiba stared into Joey's eyes so severely that Joey felt just a teensy bit of unease. The brunet didn't look angry, nor was it cold. There was something else in his eyes. Conviction?

"I told you once, Wheeler, and I'll tell you as many times as I need to," Kaiba said in a low voice so that only they could hear, "I will not allow you to set foot in that house ever again. I've had my employees retrieve anything of absolute value while your father was out, but other than that I will replace anything that can be and even more."

Joey felt something in his stomach stir, yet he knew it wasn't a sick feeling. It was an oddly pleasing feeling, but also a bit unsettling. It was hard for the blond to decide if he liked it or not.

He huffed and looked away, crossing his arms, "I still think you're being ridiculous."

Kaiba turned away also, "Whatever. Either way, that's what's happening. So stop fighting it and just let me take care of you pup."

'_Again with that feeling,'_ Joey thought to himself as he walked along side the brunet to the first store. He was alarmed to see that he had grown slightly warm in the face. '_No. Not happening. I'm NOT gonna let this bastard prove me wrong AGAIN. I am not beginning to like Kaiba! Not even as a friend!'_

For the next two hours, Kaiba dragged the blond through so many stores, shoving him into countless changing rooms, and then dragging him back out again. Most of the time he would stand there and pretend to consider the blonds' opinion on the clothes, then go ahead and buy them anyway, even if they weren't to the pup's liking. Joey supposed he should count himself lucky that Kaiba had conceded to getting a few more t-shirts and jeans, though he insisted on inspecting their fit on him, saying that the frumpy two-sizes-too-big look didn't suit him.

Joey liked his comfortable style, and he didn't want to look like he walked around with a stick up his ass like Kaiba did. Besides, the tight and sexy look he usually left to the Yami's, because well, he figured they were more adjusted to it.

Finally, the brunet let them stop for a break at the very same fountain. Both were carrying an even amount of bags. So far, Joey had two pairs of pajamas, one silk because Kaiba loved to spoil him though he'd never admit it, and one cotton because Joey hated to be spoiled which he constantly accused Kaiba of doing. There was one suit, for important events that Kaiba planned on taking Joey to, should he ever accomplish any sort of etiquette training with him anyways. There were 5 casual outfits, and a few outfits for going out, which Kaiba thought Joey didn't completely grasp the meaning behind.

"Shit…" Joey said to himself in alarm as he looked at the receipts for all of them. He mentally added them all up, and paled. How the heck was he going to pay Kaiba back for all of this?

Kaiba, while Joey was distracted, shook his head disbelieving. The pup still didn't get it, that he had gotten him all this because he _wanted _to. He smiled softly, but he supposed that earnest and determined personality is what made him fall in love with the mutt in the first place.

"I know what you're thinking, Wheeler," he said, replacing the smile with the usual scowl when Joey looked up at him in alarm, "Forget it. Even if you could pay me back I wouldn't take it. I bought all this because they are what I want you to have. That I think you deserve to have."

Joey stood up though, "Listen, Joey Wheeler doesn't take stuff like this when he didn't earn it himself. That's not how a real man acts!"

Kaiba rolled his eyes, "Now who's being ridiculous?"

Joey growled before he crossed his arms, "That's it, I've decided. If you won't take money as payback, then what _do _you want?"

Kaiba blinked, and stared at the blond. Did he even understand the double meaning that question could have?

Feeling in the mood to tease his favorite dog, Kaiba stroked his chin and gave a lecherous smirk towards the blond. Joey froze, comprehension dawning on his face.

"Not like that ya pervert!" he hissed, "I mean… well… gah forget it!"

Joey childishly sat back on the fountain, pointedly not looking at the brunet. He was trying to be _nice _dammit. Why did the CEO always have to turn everything in a new way to humiliate him?

Kaiba, feeling a little guilty for once again delving into his old habits, nudged Joey's foot with his own,

"Hey," he said carefully, so as not to piss the blond off anymore, "I was joking, mutt. Is that so surprising?"

"Coming from you? Yes."

Not happy with this response, but frankly not surprised, Kaiba sighed and sat next to the his puppy. He was pleasantly surprised that Joey let him, though that could be because the fountain had small stone pillars that currently separated them.

"Alright alright…" Kaiba said , "I'll think about it, and I'll let you know if I come up with something. It'll be non sexual. I promise."

Joey gave him a suspicious look, but eventually it softened.

"Fine."

The brunet rubbed his temples, feeling his headache starting to return, and he looked at his watch. He wanted to get home at a decent hour, as they did have school tomorrow, and they hadn't had dinner yet.

"C'mon pup," he said standing, "Let's go find the other two."

He smiled when he heard the blond grumble "not a dog..." under his breath, but nonetheless got up to walk beside him once again.

After retrieving Mokuba and Marie, (though it required all three of them literally dragging her out of the boy love section) all four clambered back into the limo, loading one side of the car seats with their spoils.

Joey leaned back, letting his head rest on the back of the soft velvet seat. Spending all of this extra time with his rival was a lot of work. Yeah, if it had been anyone but Kaiba all of the special treatment he'd been getting would be awesome. But what he still couldn't understand was why it was _Kaiba_ doing this for HIM. I mean if he wanted a cheap fuck he would have had plenty of opportunities to do so forcefully.

He cracked an eye open lazily when he heard the brunet clear his throat next to him.

"What?" Joey said, as the brunet was staring at him expectantly.

"I've given it some thought…" Kaiba started quietly, "I know what I want you to do for me."

Joey sat up and rested his elbows on his knees, "M'listenin. What, ya need some maintenance done on the mansion?"

Kaiba smirked and crossed his legs haughtily, "I have plenty of people who are far less important to do that."

Joey snorted at the brunet's utter reluctance to go five minutes without gloating, "Alright then, moneybags, what do ya want?"

For a split second, Kaiba looked uncomfortable. His blue eyes narrowed in uncertainty, then were suddenly back to be impassive, as he held out a hand discreetly towards the blond.

Joey blinked at the offered appendage and stared at Kaiba, "You're gonna have ta be a little less vague here rich boy."

Kaiba rolled his eyes; of course the blond was going to make him say it.

"What I want," he said quietly so as it couldn't be heard over Mokuba and Marie's chattering, "Is for you to hold my hand."

Joey's eyes widened and Kaiba could sense the abrupt explosion.

"Just for the car ride," he added reassuringly, "After that you can let go. But that's what I want, pup."

His hand hovered over the small gap between them, not moving back, or advancing forward. It was like trying to coax a squirrel into your hand, one wrong move and Kaiba would be back to being blond-less once again.

Joey stared at the hand some more, looking just as uncomfortable Kaiba had been asking for it. On the one hand, Kaiba was an utter prick for kidnapping him and forcing him to live and be molested to a point. But on the other hand, he had been quite generous for letting him live in the mansion (despite his not wanting to) with great food, a huge bed, and hot water. He even had bought him all these new clothes, and the only charge he wanted was for him to hold his hand on the way home.

Joey looked down at his feet, refusing to meet the others eyes, but decidedly grabbed Kaiba's a bit more rigorously than needed.

"Fine," he grumbled, "Just for the ride then ya weirdo..."

Kaiba couldn't believe it; despite all of his efforts he hadn't expected Joey to actually take his hand. The touch between them was like fire and ice, Joey's was full of warmth and life, while Kaiba's fingers sent an odd chill up Joey's arm. They weren't exactly cold, but they were definitely cooler than normal. Joey's hands were rough and dry, the hands of someone who did a lot with their hands and was too busy to pay extra attention to them. Kaiba's hands were smooth, scar less, the hands of someone who took a little too much pride in making everything on him perfect. Both textures were so foreign to the other; it was hard not to pull away at first.

But then the temperature difference between them started to dissipate, and Kaiba's hand felt warmer than it had in a long time.

It surprised Joey that Kaiba's skin wasn't colder to the touch like his personality. Even before this whole incident, the blond new that Kaiba was lonely. Sure, he had Mokuba and his crazy maid to keep him company, but the CEO continuously pushed them away. It was like they were sitting in the sun of a beautiful summer's day, while Kaiba sat alone in the shade, getting colder every second without someone there to bring him into the warmth.

Joey glanced at their hands, clasped together. Kaiba's hand looked considerably paler compared to his, almost porcelain white. Except for where the blonds' hand wrapped around the CEO's, that part of the skin was slowly turning a healthier tanner color. Nowhere near Joey's, but still, it had the effect that Joey was, in a sense, melting the brunet.

'…_I wonder...'_ Joey thought to himself, as he looked back at his feet, "_maybe if someone could find and melt that ice cold heart of his, he wouldn't be such a prick.'_

Kaiba's hand seemed to act of its own accord, as his fingers slipped between Joey's own so they entwined completely with each other. Neither of the two boys noticed as their casual hold slipped into a more intimate one, and both continued to stare in opposite directions as the ride continued, blissfully aware of the pleasant tingle each other's touch gave to each of them.

As Mokuba happily explored his new capsule monsters, Marie cast a sly glance to the side.

She smiled knowingly at the sight of both boys holding hands, and sat back contentedly with one of her novels in hand, fighting valiantly to keep from squealing.

"It won't be long now..." she whispered happily to herself.

"What was dat?" Joey asked.

"Steph'an confessed to Julio!" She screamed, successfully deterring the blond from asking anymore questions.

**Whew! That took longer to write than I thought it would. I have so much I want to do, but half of it didn't seem to fit in with this chapter, so I guess it'll have to wait till later.**

**Kisa: At least we're making some headway with Joey and Kaiba, it isn't quite as one sided as it was before.**

**Joey: (trying to tug his hand free) Kaiba the chapters over now, you can let go.**

**Kaiba: No thanks.**


	9. Down the rabbit hole

**Ah, writers block my old friend how are you (this would be sarcasm)**

**Kisa: Yeah, we got a lot of ideas, but it's actually getting to a point where we can use them that's the problem. And it's not like Joeys making our jobs any easier, damn stubborn puppy.**

**Me: Don't worry, he'll come around eventually.**

**Kisa: Tis the price you pay for trying to keep people as in character as possible, I mean there are smutty puppyshipping sotries out there, but they hardly seem like joey and Kaiba by the end of them!**

**Me: anyways, please enjoy this little act of boredom, a little bit of smut, a little bit of fantasy, a little bit of everything. Either way we're all gonna have fun (I hope)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own yugioh nor the various refrences to Alice in Wonderland.**

One fine summer day, young Seto Kaiba thought he'd lounge by his favorite tree, gazing at the crystal clear brook nestled outside his house. His younger brother, Mokuba, played in the distance with a bright red ball, laughing and having fun. The proud older brother smiled, and relished his brother's happiness. His back held at a comfortable angle because of the tree trunk, Seto let his head fall back so he could gaze at the sky between the limbs of the tree. The leaves rustled in a comforting way and the heat of the day made his eyelids droop. Though the young man usually had a large company to take care of, just this once, he allowed himself to relax,

Though he could not help thinking that something was missing.

Soon enough, the young man started to snooze, the cool shade of the tree shielding him from the sun. He barely registered the absence of his younger brother's laughter and assumed that he had returned inside for the day. No matter, no harm could come of Seto taking just a few more moments of peace.

That was when a rustling in the bushes startled the young man, though he did not open his eyes. Perhaps it was merely Mokuba trying to play a trick on him, or perhaps it was just a bird searching for its next meal.

The sound of grumbling soon greeted his ears after, grumbling of what sounded to be a young boy Seto's age.

"Damn it all, late again. Useless pocket watch." The boy continued to grouch, and by the sounds of the rustling, he was getting closer to Seto's resting place.

Seto remained still, though he had half a mind of apprehending the other boy for trespassing, he was grudgingly curious about what exactly he was late for.

"Better hurry, where the heck is that hole again?" The boy asked himself, and the footsteps left the bushes, only to pad across the soft grassy almost inaudibly. Seto tried to imagine what this stranger looked like, though he sounded young, was he attractive or ugly, tall or small?

"Is that it over there?..no, how bout over-Gah!"

Seto grunted when the wind was knocked out of him, someone had tripped on his legs and landed heavily on his lap. His eyes immediately opened, a shout of anger rising in his throat.

It died within a second.

Sprawled about his lap was a beautiful boy…well that was only half true. The boy looked almost human, except for a pair of white as cotton rabbit ears, on his head, one drooping haphazardly in front of his face, the other perched on top and twitching curiously.

The first word that came to Seto's mind was 'Adorable.'

The rabbit shook his had dazedly, successfully removing the ear from obstructing his sight,

"Sorry about that," he started, looking up apologetically then all of a sudden pouting, "but don't you know betta than to fall asleep at random places? Of course people are gonna trip over you!"

"…I wasn't aware rabbits could talk." Seto said absently, still captivated by the rabbit boy's beauty.

The rabbit blinked and stared at him like he was mad, "Of course I can talk, what kinda rabbits have you been hangin' out with?"

Seto was startled when the rabbit boy attempted to stand up. He thought rabbits were shy and skittish creatures, yet this one stood up to him without a second thought, while most of his employees that were grown men would cower in fear at the very sight of him. It was refreshing, to have someone not be afraid of him. And the little rabbit's temper was amusing.

He reached up and took hold of the rabbit's arm before he could start to run again.

"Where do you think you're going?" Seto asked casually.

The rabbit turned angrily to Seto, "Look dude, I'd love to chat (not really) but I'm late! Leggo!"

He tried to wrestle his arm free, but Seto was persistent, standing up so as to get better leverage and grip.

"You fell on one of the most powerful men in the country and talked to me quite rudely. Little rabbits should be more careful, or they could just fall into the wrong hands…"

Kaiba smirked as the rabbit boy looked considerably more uncomfortable, giving a few feeble tugs to get free from Seto. The brown haired boy decided to be daring, and tugged the rabbit towards him, so the smaller would stumble and hold his hands out to catch himself, resulting in him laying his hands on Seto's broad chest,

"And how do you intend to make up for this mistake, little rabbit?" Seto asked huskily.

The rabbit blinked, face very red indeed. Finally, after spluttering for a minute or two, the rabbit pushed away with as much force as he could muster, once again knocking the wind out of the CEO and taking off it he opposite direction, leaping into the bushes,

"Crazy human! I'm outta here!"

Seto shook off his surprise, and let a feral grin slide onto his face, and gave chase to the frightened rabbit. It had been a while since the CEO had had this much fun with another human being (besides Mokuba that is) and he wasn't going to let the source of that get away so easily.

The rabbit soon noticed Seto was following, and let out a panicked yell, quickening his speed, his ears twitched like radar, trying to find the rabbit hole in which he had come to this unfamiliar land from. Finally, he spotted it, under a thicket of rose bushes.

Storing his gold pocket watch into his vest, the rabbit dove for the hole.

"Sucker!" he shouted, disappearing into it just as Kaiba broke through the brush to see it happen.

The young CEO would not be deterred, however. He knelt by the rabbit's hole and gazed down it curiously. There was just enough room for him to fit through.

Without a second thought, Seto jumped into the hole by choice, regardless of what the repercussions might be.

Though he passed many strange visions on the way down, the stoic CEO remained unimpressed, and casually knocked obstacles out of his line of sight so he could keep an eye out for his little blonde rabbit.

He still didn't even know his name.

Soon enough, Seto landed skillfully on his feet next to what appeared to be a small table, on it was a potion. The potion said "drink me."

"That's not suspicious," Seto said sarcastically, he raised an eyebrow as he noticed a slice of cake next to the potion that said "eat me"

"Only a complete imbecile would-"

"You know that's the only way out right?"

Seto would have jumped had he been anyone else, but instead turned to stare coldly from which direction the voice had come from.

"Down here!"

Seto looked down to see a tiny oak door, whose face was of a woman with brown hair and blue eyes, looking up at him expectantly.

Seto knelt down, assuming that if the rabbit came from this place and he could talk, he shouldn't be surprised that doors could, too.

"Did a rabbit come through here, cute, white ears, blonde hair?"

The door seemed to think about it for a moment, then nodded, "Yes, he came through in quite a hurry just before you showed up. Seemed he was late for something, or trying to get away from something."

"A bit of both actually."

"Huh?"

"Nothing."

The door gave him a skeptical look but nonetheless shook it off, "If you're looking for him, you'll have to pass through my doorway."

Seto found himself getting impatient, he wanted to find his little rabbit soon, "How exactly do I do that?"

The door shrugged, which was odd seeing as when she did the whole wall shifted, "figure it out."

Seto glared at her, but stood up. It didn't take a genius to realize that the items on the table were the answer. He only hoped whatever made him small enough to fit in the door would not have any other side effects.

Not a big fan of sweets, Seto decided to try the potion first. Popping out the cork, he took a small sip and immediately felt strange. Like the entire universe was trying to compress him, shrinking him down to the size of the doorway. Fortunately, his clothes were going about the same change. He made sure just before the change to grab the cake, because it undoubtedly had something to do with changing back. 'What kind of idiot wouldn't be able to figure that out?'

"Congratulations, welcome to Wonderland!" the door said cheerfully as he passed through, and he grunted in acknowledgment.

As he started to walk away, he heard her cry out, "My name's Tea, by the way!"

"I don't care."

/

After walking through the quadruple sized grass for a while, Seto grew bored of his surroundings and decided enough was enough. He took a bite out of the cake, and soon found he was back to normal size.

"Oh, if it isn't you!"

Seto looked up to a nearby tree to see a young boy leering down at him. Close, the boy did have blonde hair, but he also had considerably tanner skin than the rabbit.

Oh and he had cat ears and a tail.

"We've never met, cat, so how can you say that?"

The cat shrugged, and absently swung so he could land idly on the ground.

"How do you know we've never met? I could be your oldest friend, and you could be mine. Or perhaps you are right, we are strangers, do you remember every single person you talk to?"

Seto did not the mind games the cat was trying to put him through, "Fine, then, whatever. Just tell me if you've seen a white rabbit or not."

The cat smirked and shrugged, Ttsk, so impatient. You'll have to learn better if you want to get through Wonderland in one piece. Coincidently, do you know why a raven is like a writing desk?"

Seto was getting steadily more frustrated with the cat, and decided that if he was going to spout off random riddles, then he probably was of no use anyway. He turned to leave,

"Hey!"

He ignored the cat and decided to go about his own way until he came to a fork in the road. He was contemplating which way to go when a flouting mouth appeared just in front of him. It was pouting, lower lip jutting out and everything,

"That wasn't very nice you know, just walking off without answering a question when asked it."

"You were the one that ignored my question in the first place. Just answer me and maybe I'll consider thinking about that riddle."

The cat materialized fully and continued to pout, then finally pointed down the path to the right,

"I saw him go that way, towards the Hatter's. Would you like me to accompany you?"

"No thanks, I'm not exactly a cat person." Seto responded, and the cat responded with a huff.

"Fine then, be that way. I'll go and play with her highness at the castle. Maybe her other highness will have made cookies."

Before Seto could ask the meaning of 'her highness and her other highness' the cat disappeared, and he was left to fume silently and continue his search for the illusive white rabbit.

After walking the trail for some time, Seto heard music in the distance, and soon came to a clearing bearing a little cottage. The music was coming from the back yard.

Deciding that his wants were more important than property laws, Kaiba peered over the white picket fence.

"You've got to be kidding me..."

Seated at a table stacked with tea cups and other such things, was a rabbit with wild looking black hair(odd, he looked a lot like Mokuba…but that was impossible, Mokuba was safe at home, very much without rabbit ears.) Next to him was a man with extremely odd looking hair, red and black with blonde lightning like streaks through it, wearing a tall hat. Finally, there was a smaller look-alike to him, who had mouse ears.

The mouse like boy perked up as soon as he heard Seto push the wooden gate open,

"Oh look, hatter!" He chirped, "Someone has come to tea, this must be a very lucky unbirthday for you!"

The hatter glanced over his cup at the brown haired boy, and set it carefully on the saucer in front of him,

"Indeed," he said.

The mouse boy hopped up from his seat, and ushered Seto into an open one, pouring him a cup of tea with such speed one would think he scarcely needed a minute to do it all. The hatter smirked and ruffled the smaller one's hair fondly.

"And what do I owe the pleasure of this unexpected visit good stranger?" said man asked politely, and Seto crossed his arms, pushing his tea away.

"I never came to visit you on purpose; I am merely looking for something I've lost track of."

The mouse boy swung his legs underneath his chair innocently, "Perhaps we can be of some help? What exactly is it you are looking for?"

Seto paused and closed his eyes, picturing the perfect rabbit boy and all his beauty, but not even a memory could capture it in its fullness.

"A rabbit, a very special rabbit…with white ears and blonde hair," He added when seeing the black rabbits slightly alarmed look. The black hare shrugged and went back to his tea.

The hatter however seemed to straighten in interest.

"Do you speak of the Queens' advisor, Joseph Wheeler?"

"…sure," Kaiba said, he had never actually learned the blondes name, he never really had the time seeing as the blonde was preoccupied with running away from him.

"It must be Joey!" the younger one with the same crazy hairtyle said happily, "No other rabbit has blonde hair and white ears in the kingdom like he does, it's quite unusual here you see."

The hatter nodded then gave Seto a skeptic look, "We are both good friends of the advisor, but he has never mentioned knowing a human such as yourself. What is it you want with him?"

Seto glared at the hatter, not appreciating the overprotective vibe he was getting from him,

"I don't feel that happens to be any of your business." Seto stated coldly.

While both boys commenced glaring at each other, the mouse boy started to get flustered.

"Please you two, don't fight! Hatter, I'm sure our new friend means Joey no harm, do you?"

Seto glanced at the smaller boy briefly and shook his head, "No harm will come to him. I simply want to get to know him better."

"You see?" The mouse chimed happily, though the hatter still looked uneasy, he stood.

"Very well then, my good man. If it is true that you mean no harm to our friend, we would be happy to escort you to the palace. That is where he most likely is at the moment."

The mouse nodded, "Their majesties were probably wondering where he was, after all, nothing gets done unless Joey is there!"

Seto paused, "**their** majesties?"

The hatter nodded solemnly, "We have two rulers, you see. Twin sisters. Her elder highness refused to take the thrown by herself, so her younger highness is ruling as well. It is an unusual way to operate, but thanks to their balanced nature, our kingdom has been in an era of great peace."

Yugi, the mouse's name it turned out to be, trotted in between them on the wooded path, the March hare had opted to stay behind and hold down the fort. Although Yugi had whispered that it was most likely because he feared her elder highness, as she had quite a temper.

"It' the younger sister that keeps it under control though."

Pretty soon, the dark and twisted woods spread to reveal a glistening red and white palace in the distance. Several different rose bushes littered the grounds, red and white roses sitting on the branches in harmony.

The guards gave Seto a strange look, but on the insistence of the hatter, all three were allowed in and were led by one of them to the throne room, where the Queens, (and hopefully Joey) would be.

The guard pulled the long rope that acted as a doorbell to the pair of giant white doors in front of them.

"We don't want any!" A female voice called out, then snickered slightly after.

"Kisa, stop that- Please enter!" another voice, very similar to the first chastised, then beckoned them in.

All three boys entered as the guard led them through, the doors shutting with a 'boom' behind them.

The hatter and the mouse immediately kneeled.

"Good day your majesties," they said together.

One of the Queens, sure to be the elder as she crossed her legs in a superior way, smirked at the hatter and waved flirtatiously. The younger one gave a polite incline of her head, smiling at the two.

"I'm glad you could visit Yami, Yugi." She paused and her eyes connected with Seto's ice blue ones for a moment. She seemed a little intimidated, but nevertheless, continued.

"May I ask your name, good sir?" she asked, and the elder, Kisa, whapped her lightly on the head.

"You're royalty, dear sister, you don't have to be so polite."

The younger glared at Queen Kisa, and Seto smirked, walking forward but not bothering to kneel, after all, these were not **his **rulers. He was simply a traveler passing through to them. He just needed to pick something up on the way…

"I am Seto Kaiba." He answered simply, crossing his arms in an arrogant way.

Queen Kisa smirked dangerously, "Keh-heh, cocky son of a-"

The younger held a hand to her temple and covered her sisters mouth before she could go any further. Yes, it was a good thing they had decided to rule as a team, or Kisa would have turned the system into a tyranny within the hour of her coronation.

"Yes, well," she said, taking a steadying breath, "What brings you here to our Wonderland, sir?"

Yugi perked up, smiling, "He was looking for Joey, your highness, is he here yet?"

Kisa shook off her sisters hand and scratched her head, "I think he came running in about an hour ago. Thought he was late, poor guy, I keep telling him to get that watch of his fixed. It's an hour fast."

The younger Queen seemed to think it over for a moment, "I believe he went to find the bathroom around ten minutes ago, he must have gotten lost again. Laura, would you mind finding him for me?"

Laura, the Queen's captain of the guard, nodded, "On it, mon capitaine!"

The brown haired girl ran full sprint out the doors, Seto could hear the thundering footsteps of her armor all echo all the way down the hallway as she ran.

The younger Queen placed her hands in her lap politely and cleared her throat, "Well then, while we wait, I believe me and my sister have neglected to introduce ourselves."

The younger Queen placed a hand on her sister's shoulder, "This is my dear elder sister, Kisa."

"You may either address me as 'your majesty,' 'your highness,' or, if it is Tuesday at precisely 3:05 and 27 seconds pm, you may call me Batman." She grinned manically at all three boys who could do nothing more than stare at her. Out of everyone, she had to be the maddest one here.

The younger Queen shook her head and held her temple as if to nurse a massive headache, then looked up with a clam smile.

"I am the younger Queen, as you know. My true name is Meghan. I wish I could tell you that is all you need call me, but I'm afraid that the guards, by instinct and principal, will apprehend you and you will probably die."

"Good to know." Seto nodded. The sweet smile she had after uttering such a foreboding sentence made him think twice as to just who was the madder twin.

The was another chime of the bells that signaled that Laura had returned.

"Please enter!" Queen Meghan called, and the great white doors opened once again.

"I found him… your majesties," Laura called out upon returning to the room.

Joey, the white rabbit was examining his pocket watch thoughtfully as Laura led him into the room. It wasn't until he was kneeling right next to him on the floor in greeting to his Queens, that the bunny even noticed Seto was there.

Joey scrambled back until he was bumped into the legs of the yugi the mouse, who glanced down at him curiously. His mouth was agape and every so often some unintelligible garble would spill out of it.

"You-wha-when-how-WHY?" he finished finally, hopping to his feet with agility and running to hide behind the younger Queen's thrown. He knew better than to expect the elder to protect him.

"I thought you said you would not cause him harm." Yami, the hatter said menacingly as Seto smirked.

"And there won't be. As I said, all I want is to get better acquainted with the little rabbit."

Joey glared at him, peeking around the high backed thrown as the Queens watched the dispute with interest, "Yeah, don't think I don't know what ya mean by THAT ya sleezball! Pervert!"

Silence rang throughout the throne room as the words echoed. Joey had shrunk back a little at the warning glare Seto was sending him and the Queen Meghan was patting his ears soothingly.

On Queen Kisa's side of the thrones, however, the mood turned considerably more dark and sinister. Her expression curled into a smirk that could rival the Cheshire cat's, and she leaned to whisper to the Queens' lady in waiting, Marie.

"Things just got a lot more interesting," she steepled her fingers like a villain in a movie. Marie grinned maniacally next to her, and the Queen soon found a Yugi had joined Joey in cowering behind her. She sighed and patted his spiky little head as well. Though she couldn't find the heart to blame them.

Something needed to be done however, or they all just might be stuck in the same position hours from now.

"…sister." The younger Queen started, standing so as to command the attention of all present, "I propose that we hold a party to celebrate Mr. Kaiba's visit. It is not often we find strangers in Wonderland after all, nor is it often that they are a human capable of befriending our beloved Joey."

"He ain't my friend or nothing!" Joey protested.

"And so with that, Marie, may I ask that a room be prepared for Mr. Kaiba. Preferably near Joey's, so he can be near his friend."

"But your highness, he ain't my friend!" Joey whined, he quieted with a pout however, when Kisa's brow furrowed in slight annoyance.

"I will see that it is done, Madam." Marie bowed and exited.

The younger Queen stepped delicately from her thrown to stand a little ways from Seto,

"Well Mr. Kaiba, while all is being readied, may I ask that you join me for a walk in the garden. The roses are quite beautiful this time of year."

Seto scanned her face, as he had trained himself to do in the business world. Her eyes were well meaning, but it was clear that she wanted to discuss other matters besides the flowers.

He smirked, "That sounds nice... your highness," he added quickly when a guard lifted his spear threateningly. Laura gave him the signal to "at ease" and followed the Queen and Seto out to the courtyard, where she would keep an eye on the stranger and the Queen for their own protection with her mighty battle axe. (lil1diva: I gave myself an axe

******J)**

Seto found quickly that Queen Meghan was right about the roses, they were quite beautiful. And well taken care of. He also saw people playing croquet in the lush green grass, hedgehogs being used as balls (thanks to Meghan), but were protected by a custom built suit of armor as flamingos were being used as hammers to swing at them with their helmet clad heads (also courtesy the more sympathetic twin royal.)

"Your country is quite…interesting," Seto said as she caught him staring at the game.

She smiled, and nodded, "Indeed it is, with many interesting people. Including our advisor."

She cast him a knowing look, and he smirked.

"Are you going to scold me like the hatter tried to, your majesty?"

The younger Queen shook her head, "No, I merely ask that if you have romantic intentions towards Joey, will you, or will you not, treat him cordially. Like a proper gentleman."

Seto folded his arms behind his back to portray innocence, "Of course. It is not often that I find something fascinating enough to chase after, your highness. And Joey Wheeler made that fascination grow when he made me chase him down that rabbit hole."

The Queen giggled, and while he let her finish, he still cast her a serious look when he was finished.

"I do not believe in love at first sight, your majesty. But, I do believe that love begins with first sight as intrigue, and grows as you continue to see that particular person. For Joey, I

want_ to fall in love with him every time I see him. So I will chase after him as much as I need to, down a rabbit hole, and into a totally different world. Whatever I have to do to make him mine." (lildiva: awwww)._

Queen Meghan looked at him as if he were a baby seal, her eyes growing wide with emotion as she held a hand to the side of her face.

"Well then, good sir," she said happily, "I wish you luck in your endeavor. Our Advisor is stubborn, but he is very kindhearted. I want you to take good care of him."

Seto nodded, "Oh, I will."

He paused however, as he bent to examine a red rose, "I cannot promise, however, that all of my endeavors will be…innocent."

The Queen flushed and pulled out her hand fan, "Um, I suppose that is fair, so long as you take, er responsibility for your actions."

A maid soon came trotting up the cobblestone path to let Seto know that his room was ready, and that he should get ready fro the party (things get done quick in Wonderland, especially when it came to partying.)

Laura joined Queen Meghan on the path.

"He seems to be a decent guy," Laura assured Meghan; she knew how much of a soft spot the younger Queen had for the rabbit.

"I hope both of them will find happiness, even more so with each other. But I'm worried. We have only just met Mr. Kaiba. What if this kindhearted attitude is just an act?"

"To that, dear sister," Kisa said from behind both, as she handed a white parasol to the younger to match her red one, "There is always the whole, 'Off with his head!' fall back."

Meghan rolled her eyes, "You know, there are other ways to solve your problems than just decapitating people."

That night, at the party…

Seto watched as the numerous occupants of Wonderland danced and partied to their hearts content. The outfits seemed to develop from odd to down right crazy as the night went on, and the brunette found himself shaking his head and walking to the window… where the white Queen, Meghan, stood.

"How does the party suit you, Mr. Kaiba?" she asked politely, barely flinching when Seto turned his glaring eyes toward her. She was becoming used to it, and assumed that was just how he always looked.

"…I suppose it's alright," he said grumpily.

The young man was also frustrated that he had yet to locate his white rabbit. He had imagined what he would look like, all dressed up in formal attire that he would be uncomfortable in, but in which he would no doubt look adorable. He kept scanning the ballroom for him, but alas could not find him. The white Queen cast a concerned glance around the room, understanding immediately what Seto was searching for.

"I'm not sure at all where Joey could be, he promised both me and sister that he would join us for the party. With how bravely he runs his mouth, I never expected him to be so shy in matter such as this."

"It's probably my fault, when I want something I tend to be a bit aggressive. It's something he'll just have to learn to get used to," Seto responded.

The white Queen glanced down at her gloves apologetically, "I'm sorry, I wish there was something I could do to help you both."

Seto was about to tell her it was not her responsibility to make him and Joey happy, when the sound of someone clucking their tongue chidingly came from between them.

Seto raised his eyebrows while the young Queen jumped beside him, when the mischievous cat from before appeared in a puff of smoke. The white Queen's face turned suddenly very red.

"Marik!"

The cat cast her a smirk that made the blush grow stronger, before he turned with his arms folded to Kaiba.

"It takes a certain kind of gall to make a girl worry about your problems. Especially one of their majesties. You do realize that if her sister knew you were causing her any kind of distress, your head would be floating around in the moat within minutes." As serious as the topic had turned, Marik, the Cheshire cat, still had that damn smirk on his face. Like everything amused him in some way.

Seto glared at the blonde cat, he did not appreciate him insinuating that he had purposefully forced his problems on the Queen. She was the one who decided to get involved.

"Please, Marik, there is no need to talk to Mr. Kaiba in such a way." Meghan said, blushing when Marik looked her way again, she stared down at her gloves.

Marik seemed to consider them for a moment, before he leaned back, "You know, Wonderland is such an unpredictable place, sometimes, to get what you want, you need to take a chance and not worry about the repercussions..."

For just a moment, Seto considered asking the younger Queen if the cat always spouted unrelated dribble when talking to someone, when he paused, to consider his words. How much had he heard of the conversation before he interrupted? Did he know how he felt about Joey? Did he know he was having trouble showing Joey how he felt (part of that trouble was because Joey kept running away, but well, there ya go.)

They stared for a minute or two, Marik smiling enigmatically while the Queen looked on, thoroughly confused. As if he knew that Seto had finally understood what he was trying to tell him, Marik jumped from his perch to land in front of Queen Meghan.

He bowed politely, "Like so. M'lady, may I have the honor of a dance?"

Seto snorted, the younger Queen looked embarrassed enough to melt into the wall, but nonetheless, she nodded and took the cat's offered hand as he led them onto the dance floor. Seto was left alone once again.

For a while, he was content with just watching the rest of the party commence. Queen Kisa soon found her younger sister dancing with the cat, and proceeded to tease her relentlessly. Eventually, however, she grew bored, and decided to flirt shamelessly with the hatter. Seto noticed blandly that Yami didn't seem to be bothered, nor happy about this. He even indulged her in a dance or two. Even Laura, the captain of the guard, was swing dancing with a pair of albino looking twins, one happy about this, but the other sending her death glares every possible moment. He contemplated trying to fight her, but she was dancing with her axe at her side, the one that she uses to decapitate people.

It was indeed amusing, but Seto once again grew tired of watching everyone flirting when the one he wanted to do so with was no where to be found. Even little Yugi was visiting his girlfriend, which was Tea, the door Seto had first met in Wonderland.

"Ahem."

Someone cleared their throat behind him, and Seto turned. Only to be surprised as the object of his thoughts stood there, arms folded behind his back. The brunet was delighted to find he was 100 percent right about Joey looking adorable in formal attire. The blonde was wearing black dress pants, along with a white linen shirt, and a silky red vest, his trusty pocket watch nestled inside with the chain looping outside. Perched on his nose were a pair of rimless glasses, that he had a sneaking suspicion had been put there by someone other than the rabbit simply because it made him all the cuter, trying to peer through them but also keeping them balanced on his face. He didn't look too happy to be standing within arm's reach of Seto, but the CEO knew beggars could not be choosers.

"Their highnesses the Queens said you wanted to speak with me. As a guest of their majesties, and because I'm the royal advisor, I have to respect this request. So what do ya want?"

Seto felt the corners of his lips tug upwards in amusement, Joey was trying to speak formally, but he just sounded so stiff and awkward; it was downright comical.

"I do want to speak with you, Joey Wheeler was it?" Joey's eyebrow twitched in annoyance, "But not here, come."

The brunet took the rabbit by the wrist, dragging him to the doors and out into the hallway. He continued to do so until they were in a secluded hallway far away from anyone that could find them.

"Alright, enough!" Joey spat, ripping his wrist from the CEO's grasp, face red as a tomato for letting the contact go that long, "What do you want already? I'm a busy rabbit, so spit it out!"

The words Marik had spoken earlier echoed in his head. Perhaps he was right, perhaps it was time to throw logic to the wind and just take a chance.

Without a second thought, Seto had Joey pinned against the wall, pressing his hips against the smaller boy's so as to effectively take out any movement, but also to enjoy a small moment of friction.

"It's quit simple, really," Seto whispered in the rabbit's ear, the white fur tickling his lips for a moment, "I want **you."**

The look on Joey's face was priceless. His face seemed ready to explode with how red it was, and his jaw hung slack at how blunt the brunet was. You don't just SAY something like that In the middle of the Queens Palace hallways, where ANYONE could hear!

"L-Look you!" Joey said, turning his head away so he didn't have to look at Seto's piercing blue eyes, "I'll tell ya one last time, I ain't interested in being a crazy human's bitch!"

The silence that followed was eerie, and Joey chanced a curious glance at the human.

He was slightly alarmed. Seto's eyes were still filled with lust, but he also looked angry.

"You think…" Seto said, increasing his grip on the shorter boy's wrists so it was almost painful, "I would chase just anyone down a damn rabbit hole, in a seriously disturbed world with some seriously disturbed people, just for a cheap fuck?"

Joey blinked, and Seto could tell he was thinking. To be honest, even though he was scarily mad, this was the most sincere sounding thing that had come out of the CEO's mouth since they had first met.

Seto could almost see the gears running in the little rabbits head, what he said made sense. He thought Joey was special enough to chase, if he had wanted a whore, he could have easily gotten one, yet he had stepped up to the obvious challenge that was Joey.

"You… you're crazy." Joey said finally, his voice meek and embarrassed. He closed his eyes and turned his head away again.

Seto felt the anger melt away in a second.

"I suppose…" he said huskily, leaning in to press his lips to the blonde's exposed neck, "But then again, insanity seems to be a basic requirement of living around here,"

He could feel the boy trembling as he continued to brush his lips over the soft skin. He was nervous, so he had proper rabbit instincts after all.

"Easy now, little rabbit," Seto whispered into his ear, kissing the top of it lightly, making Joey gasp, "No one's going to hurt you."

"Mm… mmmm" Joey bit his lip as Seto changed tactics, now sucking at his neck and lightly grazing his teeth over his pulse. He didn't want to cry out, it was too embarrassing. But it felt so damn good.

Damn Seto.

Said brunet kissed up the blond's neck, only to circle, kissing his cheeks, forehead, nose, and jaw.

He never touched the lips, though, he came very close, but for some reason he felt that it was wrong to do so yet. But what was holding him back?

Seto knew that the rabbit was putty in his hands now so he let go of Joey's wrists, allowing them to droop at his sides like jelly sacks. The CEO reached down to start unbuttoning the rabbit's vest.

He narrowed his eyes in annoyance when the rabbit tensed again, and grabbed his hands.

"Relax," Seto said again, making his voice sound as smooth and silky as possible.

From the look on Joey's face, it was working. His eyes were glazed over in pleasure and his eyelids where drooping, even so he held the CEO's hands still.

"Look… if-if were gonna… not here," he said finally, looking away from the CEO.

Seto blinked, and then smirked. Without a word he tossed the blond over his shoulder and strode briskly to the nearest door. He didn't care if it was his room or not, it was a room and he was going to use it well.

He closed the door behind him with a slam, so much so that he didn't even notice a mischievous looking Queen Kisa, along with the lady in waiting, Marie, snickering and placing a small "Do not disturb" sign on the door.

Seto tossed the blonde onto the bed and climbed on top of him.

The white ears drooped tiredly over the pillow, too wound up and flustered to stand upright anymore. Joey panted a little, his mouth open just a little bit.

His lips looked so delicious, and Seto wanted nothing more than to claim them as his own.

So why didn't he?

Arms wrapped around his neck, as if the owner could read his mind,

"You figure it out yet?" Joey asked quietly, smiling up at him.

"What?" Seto asked, leaning back so he was still sitting on the blonde's hip, but no longer hovered over those tantalizing lips.

Joey propped himself up on his elbows, "I know there's a Joey out there that you really love. And I know that ya think that guy is me. But I'm not."

Seto blinked and stared at the rabbit.

Joey grinned up at him, "Believe me, I know what it's like, see?"

He pointed to a corner of the room, and Seto nearly fell off of the bed in a fashion that was so NOT like Seto.

Standing in the corner, in traditional Victorian gentleman garb was a Wonderland version of himself.

Seto continued to stare at both of them; this was officially the craziest thing to have happened to him in Wonderland.

"Don't worry too much about it, human," the Wonderland Seto said coolly.

Seto felt a hand hold his cheek tenderly.

"Your Joey is waiting. So go," the white rabbit said amber eyes warm with understanding.

"But-"

What was happening? It couldn't possibly be a dream, not all of it. Joey had felt so real, he had him in his arms. He was so close…

The room started to get blurry, and spun. The touch didn't leave his face, but Seto suddenly had the sense that he was standing precariously on an edge, just seconds from tipping over it.

"Go..." rabbit Joey said once more, before Kaiba was falling once again. Up and out of the palace, past the tunnel of many mysteries. Finally into a pitch blackness that seemed to swallow him whole.

Kaiba's body convulsed as the sensation of falling ended, and he collapsed onto his bed once again. (a/n I bet a lot of you have experienced this yourself, I know I have.)

He sat up quickly, eyes not even open.

Everything was quiet, but he could feel the warmth and light of the sun shining on his face. It must be early morning. He could smell the fresh linens on his bed, feel them in his hands. The sensations weren't muted like they had been in the dream. He was awake.

He opened his eyes, to find himself alone in his bedroom, the large king sized bed seeming just a little too large. It needed another occupant, or half of its space would have been made for nothing.

Kaiba was not used to this feeling, this feeling of regret that the dream was over. He knew better than to want dream like that to be real, there was just no sense in it.

"Y_our Joey is waiting for you…"_

Kaiba looked up.

That's right,

He DID have a Joey waiting for him (in a sense) in the real world.

Pulling the covers off of him quickly, the oldest Kaiba got dressed in his normal attire and walked briskly across the hall, knocking turning the door handle.

He was not surprised to find the blond still asleep, sprawled out on his bed like a child. He must be an active sleeper, rolling around and tossing and turning.

The CEO sat on the edge of the bed, gazing at the blonde's serene face. He reached out, and brushed at Joey's cheek tenderly, touching the soft skin just below the eye. His lips were a pale pink, and they hung slightly open as he breathed deeply in and out.

As much as he had enjoyed the dream, Kaiba had to admit…

The real Joey was 100 times better than any dream.

**Gah! Finally! Finished! That was a really fun chapter to write, recently I've really gotten into the whole "Alice in Wonderland" thing. Thought it felt weird to write myself as a Queen,**

**Kisa: I could get used to it X3**

**Me: anyways, I tried to add a little smut but…I just feel like it isn't time yet. It is coming, I promise, later chapters will have smut coming out the wazoo! But for the sake of the story believe me when it doesn't feel right to type it now!**

**Lil1diva: if you want to know about the twins I was dancing with, they were Bakura and Ryou. Now go back and laugh at Bakura. Love ya, Bakura!**

**Joey: it's fine already, jeez….can I take these damn rabbit ears off now?**

**Everyone including Kaiba: No!**


	10. Swallow your pride

**hey everyone! Sorry it's been so long since my last update, i've been dreading using my crappy dell laptop. It's like a thousand years old and takes 20 minutes to open a word document. My mom told me that gmail lets me create documents though, so i thought i'd give it a shot. Hopefully all goes well.**

**Anyways, please enjoy the capter! Disclaimer: I do not own yugioh.**

Joey had fallen asleep the night before with difficulty. While Kaiba had retreated to his room, claiming he needed to think and that no one had better disturb him (under penalty of a pink slip), Joey was left in the front foyer, a thousand shopping bags gathered at his ankles, and more than a little conflicted.

He had held the jerk's hand! Sure all that logic he went through in the limo made sense, and he did owe Kaiba for all the stuff he bought for him, but still!

"God, what is wrong with me today?" He hissed to himself. He gathered the bags in his arms, brushing off any of the staff that offered to help him (he refused to be treated like a spoiled little prince, he could carry his own damn things) and stomped up the stairs.

Mokuba and Marie watched slightly crestfallen.

"Man, Seto was doing so well before! What happened?" Mokuba turned to Marie, who tucked her new novel under her arm so she could ruffle the boy's black hair.

"Rome wasn't built in a day kiddo, it's gonna take time."

"But Seto only has a month! And Joey's so stubborn, it's going to take a lot to get him to put his guard down. What if Seto doesn't have enough time to change Joey's mind about him?"

Marie cast a thoughtful look to the stairs, Kaiba's office was in one wing, and Joey's was in the opposite. Two people who deserved the happiness of finding someone more than anyone she had ever met, yet they were completly clueless as to how to meet halfway. All Kaiba knew how to do was advance, but this only repelled Joey like a magnet, and made him retreat farther. Joey had come a little closer during the car ride home, but if such a small step had taken all of almost a week to accomplish, then the chances of Kaiba succeeding in this bet were slim.

"Your right, Mokuba," he started slowly, "He won't have enough time...on his own." She turned to wink at her young charge, "What say you we give your big brother and Jey a push in the right direction, Savy?"

Mokuba blinked for a moment, then grinned. Both of them did their secret handshake which they have me sworn to secrecy not to tell you how it goes. Hence the secret.

/

Deciding he was too tired to put them away just yet, Joey dumped his brand new clothes, bags and all on the floor and collapsed onto his bed, burying his face in the pillows and screaming as hard as he could. The material vibrated, but all that could be heard was a comical muffled bellowing.

Not exactly the most conventional way of releaving stress, but it at least made him fell a bit better. Lighter in a way, enough for him to roll over and stare at the ceiling. His head was full of so many confusing things at the moment, so many what ifs, replaying what happened in the limo over and over again.

This wan't supposed to happen; he wasn't supposed to get close to Kaiba! He was supposed to cause the brunet as much trouble as possible until Kaiba realized that his 'feelings' for Joey were unfoudned. Kaiba and him, Kaiba and the whole gang **period**, had never been friends, and frankly Yugi was the only one that really expressed any want to change that. Joey was perfeclty happy staying as far away as possible, and when it came down to it, exchanging bloodthirsty banter with the CEO. The only time he ever wanted to be in the same vicinity as Kaiba was when he was dueling him because that meant he might beat him and finally show that rich punk he wasn't the greatest thing since sliced bread.

But things were taking a turn for the worst (in his opinion) and Kaiba was being...well not exactly nice but not exactly cold either. He didn't know what to make of this new, flirtatious Kaiba that wanted, quite obviously, to get into his pants. He had the decency not to resort to rape, which was more than what Joey had expected (he had always thought Kaiba was the type of guy that 'took what he want because he wanted it and if you didn't like it, tough Tacos.') And although he had an annoying habit of invading Joey's personal space, he had honored his word that he would in fact, wait for Joey to be 'ready'.

Too bad that time would never come...right?

Joey closed his eyes in an effort to calm himself, and ran his fingers through his tangled blonde mop of hair. What if Kaiba was right? What if he started feeling urges for Kaiba that he had always thought he'd have for the opposite sex...eventually. What if he started to think Kaiba was (gag) attractive? what if he started letting Kaiba do what he wanted with him?

What if he actually started to like it?

Before he could scream into his pillow again, there was a knock on the door.

"G'way!" he shouted, shoving a pillow over his face.

"Joey? Can I come in please?" Mokuba's chidlike voice called from outside. Joey stiffened and steeled himself to tell the boy no, there was no way in hell he could talk to someone with all the confusion he was going through.

"Fine, but just for a while!"

Dammit.

Not botherng to lift the pillow off his head, the blond listened as Mokuba opened the door and closed it behind him. However, he had no way of preparing for what the boy would do next.

"Cannon ball!"

Suddnely it felt like an elephant slammed head first into his stomach, and all the air in his lungs exploded out of him like a popped balloon.

Joey coughed and wheezed, the pillow falling off his head as he sat up to glare at Mokuba.

"What's Marie been feeding you? Rocks?"

Mokuba mischeviously stuck his tongue out, but crawled off of Joey to sit cross legged on the bed across from him.

"You seemed kinda down, so I thought i'd try and lighten the mood a bit."

Joey rolled his eyes and allowed himself to fall back on the pillows, "Yeah, who wouldn't be jolly after having a 12 year old body slam them into oblivion."

Upon hearing the boy snicker, Joey reached out and grabbed him in a choke hold, being careful not to hurt him of course, and started rubbing his knuckles against his head,

"Call uncle, runt, before I sand your scalp down to nothin!" he shouted playfully while Mokuba struggled in his arms,

"Uncle! Uncle! Ow!" Mokuba shouted, but his pitiful cry for mercy was marred by the unmistakable sound of laughter in his voice. Joey let him go and pushed him gruffly to the other side of the bed, a fond smile on his lips.

"So what's eatin ya, kid?"

Mokuba rubbed his head, which still ached a little from his atomic noogie, and gave the most innocent, most puppydog eyed stare he could manage to the older boy.

"Joey, why dont you like my older brother?"

Joey coudn't look away in time, he felt the weight of the gaze ram into him like a freight train. He looked down and scratched his head awkwardly.

"Aww come on kid, ya know me and your bro dont exactly have a happy history."

"But he's changed a lot Joey!' Mokuba continued, shaking the blond's shoulder like it would make him listen to reason better, "He isn't the same guy who tore up Mr. Muto's card, or who said all those mean things to you at duelist kingdom. He really truly cares for you, he just has trouble showng it in normal ways."

Joey huffed, "Well let's see, he kidnapped me, forced me stay in his house, gets a little more friendly than you think every chance he gets, and forced me to move out of my own house. Yeah Mo, I totally see the difference."

Mokuba groaned in an adorably frustrated way and grabbed one of Joeys pillows, proceeding to beat the other boy with it about the head and neck.

"You! (whack) Are! (whack) So! (whack) STUBBORN!(whack whack whack)"  
Joey took cover under his arms, shielding his face from the plush weapon, unsure if he was supposed to laugh, or take heed of Mokuba's growing wrath.

"If you'd just give Seto a chance, I know you'd see there's more to him than all that. He had reasons for doing all this, and you know it, now stop acting like such a kid and just GO with it!"

Joey scrambled for words, but when a pissed off Mokuba is holding a pillow in a very threatening manner to your face, they tend to escape you.

"But I- and he- I never asked for any of this! I never asked him to-"

"My brother is a good person, a little anti social," Mokuba interrupted, and faltered a tthe look Joey was giving him, "er, ok, _very_ anti social, and kind of domineering, but I know that he could make you happy if you'd just let him try!"

Joey could only stare at Mokuba, mouth opening and closing as he continued to search for something to say.

"Meh," was the best he could come up with.

Mokuba's silver eyes softened noticeably and he let the pillow plop back on the bed.

"Please, Joey, please just give this a chance? Not only could he make you happy, but I think you're the one person who can finally make him happy too."

Swallowing the urge to say 'no' immediately, Joey paused to mull over everything the younger Kaiba had said. Kaiba? Happy? Could those two words be legally used in the same sentence? He really, really, REALLY didn't want to give the prick the satisfaction of playing right into his hands, but Mokuba's pleading expression was digging into his heart with a spoon.

Why a spoon? It's blunt, so it hurts more.

Joey blew a piece of his hair out of his eyes moodily, "Fine kid," and Mokuba brightened, "Let's make this clear though, I ain't doin' this for moneybags, I'm doing it for you."

Mokuba hugged him and Joey ruffled his black hair despite himself.

"That's okay for now I guess," Mokuba said into the blond's t-shirt, "Just make sure you do it for yourself too."

After playing aorund a little more, Mokuba finally left Joey alone to his thoughts. Which was good, because he was just as confused as he was before the kid had come.

Not bothering to get changed into his brand new silky pajamas (because he had a feeling it would piss Kaiba off, which however way this ended he would always take every opportunity in doing,) Joey threw his jacket off so it draped over a chair nearby, and switched off the light. He didn't really feel like eating dinner.

Oh, look at that, half the readers just passed out from shock.

/

Kaiba stood outside the door to Joey's room the next morning, going over, once again, what his plan of attack was. In his hand was a brochure to a fancy Italian restaurant, which Marie had flung on top of his paperwork as she went about the cleaning of his office last night.

Marie was the only maid allowed in there, mostly because she threatened to come in there with a pressurized hose if he didn't let her clean it (she could get away with it, because, well, she's Marie.) It was also an unspoken way of Marie offering her help without him sacrificing his pride in asking her. Because we all know too well Seto Kaiba is all aobut pride.

She'd come in, and with her keen sense of emotion, would know when Kaiba was troubled. She wouldn't press him though, just clean the room a little slower than usual. She did this just in case he ever needed advice from her or wanted someone to talk . He never did, because he's Kaiba. But even though he didn't admit it, he appreciated it all the same. He knew how often Mokuba would have nightmares about their past with Gozaburo, and Marie would always be willing to comfort him late into he night and even sing him to sleep. In a way, her assurance was plenty for him.

This time though, she seemed to be just a smidge pushier with the advice she willingly gave out. While he was working, she came in, humming a Weird Al song under her breath, then plopped the brocure at his side, and set off to cleaning.

Seto, of course, picked it up after a moment. He probably could have ignored it, but that would only mean that the maid would get confused and, thinking he hadn't seen it, would probably pounce on his back and twist his face towards it, (yes, it's happened before...)

It was the perfect romantic dinner setting, Marie had probably envisioned the both of them in the classic lady and the tramp scene (as of how he knew of this scene, well, Marie liked to watch them on her days off, and sometimes would force both brothers in with her, claiming she was 'lonely') And it said that the crowd there was 'welcome to diversity" so there would be no problems of haivng two boys on a romantic date.

So here he was, readying himself for the impending battle, he had no doubts they would go on this date. Seto was patient, but not that patient. The trick was trying to convince Joey to go willingly, instead of forcing him along...again.

He adjusted the lapels on his trenchcoat, his way of clearing his head, and rapped confidently on the door three times. He heard a rustle and presumably a sleepy groan from Joey on the inside. That was close enough to an 'enter' for Kaiba.

He entered, closing the door behind him and strutting towards the bed.

"Wheeler, it's noon. Get your ass up."

Joey cracked an eye open under the pillow he was buried under once again. That was probably the closest to a good morning he would ever get.

Since Kaiba had barged into his room, it surely meant he had yet another plan for this whole crazy date thing. Joey's first instinct was to glance over at the window and judge whether or not he could jump out of it and make his escape...but they were on the second floor. And not even Joey Wheeler was that good (shocking I know.)

Besides that, he had promised Mokuba he'd try to be a bit more open about this whole thing. So, begrudgingly, Joey dragged himself out from under the pillow and turned his head to face Kaiba.

"Whaddaya want?"

Hey, he said he be more open, that didnt mean being nice.

Kaiba's lips however quirked into a smirk, and Joey bit his lip, oops he forgot Kaiba _liked _it when he got rowdy. The CEO sat and crossed a leg over the other, handing the brochure over to Joey.

"We're going out to dinner tonight, to the finest restaurant in Domino."

Joey looked blankly at the brochure in his lap. He supposed that was Kaiba's version of "wanna go on a date with me?" Again 'hell no' danced tantalizingly along his tongue, just waiting to slip out of his mouth. But before it could, Mokuba's pleading expression popped into his head, and he swallowed the words. He tok a deep breath, and let it out slowly, dragging his hands along his face in the classic 'why me' expression.

"Say I don't WANT to go to this place. What then?"

Kaiba's eyes were icy as always, but he still looked smug, "then you would be breaking our bet. Which is I let you live here with all the comforts in the world, but only if you agree to let me attempt to court you."

Joey's face collapsed into his hands once again. "Court" him, he actually used the term 'court'? He knew there was a lot more on his mind than just a dinner date.

"This is my attempt to go slow Puppy," Kaiba said offhandedly, glaring at the wall, "Don't make me regret it."

Joey slowly emerged from his hands, instead running them through his hair, which Kaiba noticed was a habit Joey had when he was thinking hard about somehting. The blond couldn't argue with Kaiba, with any rlationship you always started with a date, so at least Kaiba had enough social understanding to know that. If Mai were here, she'd probalby be nodding her head approvingly at Kaiba's course of action. If Joey were a chick, he'd probably agree with her. But he WASN"T a chick. That was the point. Hed have been happy with burgers at any old place, then going to do something fun afterward.

Kaiba waited, seemingly frozen in his poised position on Joey's bed, when he heard the blonde mumble somehting under his breath.

"What was that pup? You'll have to bark louder."

Joey glared at him for a moment, then looked back down at his lap, "I said fine. I'll go."

Kaiba blinked, admittedly surprised. He knew they were definitely going, he just hadn't thought it would be that easy.

"What, no snarling, no growling, no futile threats of violence?" Kaiba asked with amusment. Joey scoffed.

"Ya dissapointed?"

"A little."

Joey pulled his legs in to sit cross legged, "Let's get one thing straight. I ain't doin' this for you. Even I'm getting tired of this game a cat and mouse, so for my sanity, not yours, I'm gonna see how this plays out. Don't expect me to go along with everything just like that though, like some obediant puppy." The blond turned with a huff towards the window.

Kaiba stared at him a few moments, then reached forward, so his fingers ever so gently brushed the side of Joey's face,

"Now what would be the fun in that?" Kaiba said softly, and Joey felt himself freeze up at how tender it sounded, so loving. He stared wide eyed at Kaiba, but all he saw was the normal icy glare. He must have been imagining that loving tone.

Joey, unsure how to react, twisted his face out of Kaiba's reach, "Would you cut that out already, it's freaky. Now get the hell out of my room!"

Kaqiba smirked and folded his arms, "Technically this is my room, as is every room in the mansion. I dont have to leave if I choose not to."

Joey glared, feeling the fight rise in him once again, "Oh yeah, what if I force you?"

Kaiba looked over at him, giving him a condesceding and smug look, "I admit, I would absolutly love to see you try."

Without a second thought Joey lunged to his knees, using the force to push himself forward into Kaibas back, trying to shove him off the bed. Kaiba had to uncross his legs, he'd give Joey that much, but all he had to do was brace them on the carpet, and Joey was left flopping back onto the mattress as the force in his jump fell drastically. It would have been foolish of Kaiba to expect Joey to give up. He heard Joey grunt as he kept pushing at him, even going to far as to get off the bed and run at him. Kaiba simply dodged at the last minute as Joey dived, ending up face first in a pile of covers. His body seemed to flop in defeat.

Kaiba reached forward and ruffled his blond hair bravely, "I suppose if I were not, well, me, that could have worked, Wheeler."

For a moment it looked like Joey was quivering with rage, but Kaiba suddenly heard the unmistakable snicker that Joey had. The blond seemed to realize what he was dong the same moment Kaiba did.

He was _laughing! _He was having _fun!_ Fun with Kaiba...

Holy shit!

"Just get the hell out Kaiba, wouldja?" Joey soudned tired.

Kaiba smiled at his blond puppy, and decided this once he could give him mercy,

"I have work to do anyways. I expect you to be dressed and ready to go by six this evening. I'm sure Marie would be elated to help if you need it."

With that, the CEO stood and left, leaving Joey much as he had found him earlier. His hair in disarray, disgruntled, and buried in covers and pillows. Joey lay there for a few moments, contemplating what just happened.

"...Mokuba, you'd better hope what you said about your brother is true."

**Agh! Finally done! Sorry for the long wait guys, first there was graduation, then all the other college preperation stuff. And for some reason this chapter was really difficut to put together. I mean i knew what i wanted to type, the problem was getting it out of my brain and into a decent word publisher.**

**Joey: Will they have burgers at this restaurant?**

**Kaiba: Absolutly not. (hands menu)**

**Joey: I can't READ anything on here! It's all in Italian!**

**Kaiba: I know, thats why you have me here (smirks.)**

**Please read and review!**


	11. First Date

**Heey everyone! sorry for the long wait, recently ive moved into college, and we've been getting ready for midterms. I finally have a free moment though and there shouldnt be as much of a wait. i missed writing this story**

**Kisa: Never question a yaoi fangirl's dedication.**

**Me: anyways, please enjoy Seto and Joey's first date!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh, nor do i own Dale, who you will meet in this next chapter.**

Well, Joey THOUGHT that besides the date later that night, he had the entire day to relax before starting his weekend homework the next day. He didn't, however, count on Marie. Who, for some reason of another, decided she was going to help him whether he wanted it or not.

The blond was innocently playing Nintendo with Mokuba, when Marie barged through the door with such force it nearly snapped off the hinges. Her face was practically glowing with anticipation and happiness.

Mokuba, without a word, scooted out of the way and hid under his bed, while Joey froze like a deer in headlights as she descended upon him.

After that, it was mostly a blur. He vaguely remembered her shoving him into he bathroom with the promise that if he was not 100 percent clean when he got out she would do it again herself. Which got his butt moving, but even then he barely had enough time to rinse the conditioner she gave him out of his hair before she was hammering on the door, saying she had a change of outfit she wanted him to try on.

Five more outfits later, and she had finally nodded approvingly.

"Perfect" she muttered. She looked at him like she was her first born going off to the prom.

Joey, more than slightly disgruntled at these recent events took a moment to catch his breath, while she admired her handiwork. He was wearing a black dress pants and shoes, with a soft white short sleeved dress shirt under a smooth red jacket. The jacket itself resembled his green one from a while back, but it didn't so much bury him like that one did as it showed off his muscular but still lean chest. It had black threading and buttons so it contrasted nicely with his pants. She even went so far as to get him a few accessories, like a black wristband and his dog tag necklace.

Given the chance, he would have just thrown on a pair of jeans and a nice t-shirt five minutes before the date was supposed to begin. But he had to admit, as she turned him to face the mirror in his room, he actually looked pretty cool.

He tugged on the collar of the jacket like he did with the green one.

"I can NOT believe I'm doin this..." he grumbled feeling a tad embarrassed. He never really was a fan for standing in front of mirrors. It wasn't that he thought himself ugly; he just didn't think it was necessary to ogle at himself like some people (cough cough Duke Devlin.)

Marie slapped at his hand and smoothed the collar back out, double checking him for wrinkles,

"You look so handsome. Master Kaiba will be very pleased."

"That's what I'm afraid of."

"Hush." She pushed him gently so he would sit in a chair in front of the mirror, while she proceeded to attack his hair with a wet comb.

For a moment he admittedly looked very much a sheepdog, when his blond hair was combed flat so it hung in his face. But it didn't last long, when she combed it back out of the way.

Great...now he looked like a bad John Travolta cosplayer.

Even Marie seemed to think so, she paused for a moment, looking dissatisfied, before she put the comb down and ruffled his hair till it was pretty much the same as when they started.

"I think it looks best this way," she said smiling, and he nodded.

"Thanks."

She continued to search for the tiniest imperfections, at the same time trying to give him a pep talk.

"You nervous?" She asked

"Nope."

"Are you excited?"

"Nope"

"...Do you feel anything?"

He thought about it, "Hungry," he answered truthfully, and she laughed.

"Well, I guess it's good that you're going to a restaurant."

Joey glared out the window, where he was sure Kaiba was waiting for him by the limo.

"Meh."

Marie ruffled his hair fondly, "Don't worry; you'll have a great time."

"How d'you know?" he asked sulkily, slumping as she walked with him to the front door. She straightened the lapels on his jacket one last time.

"Just a feeling." She smiled serenely up at him. It was that look she got when he had a sneaking suspicion she knew more than anyone did.

Mokuba shouted a good luck from the top of the stairs, and then Marie joined him with the promise of playing Toad in Mario Kart.

Joey was left lone to brave perhaps the greatest challenge he ever had:

His first date with Kaiba.

/

Kaiba knew right away it would be difficult to keep his self control tonight. Even more so when Joey walked out the front door to meet him. He silently reminded himself to have someone pick up the latest issue of boys love magazine for Marie; she deserved a reward for her hard work. Joey looked like a dream.

He couldn't stop staring at him, even as they both got into the back of the limo. As usual, Joey sat on the opposite side of Kaiba and inched as close to the door as he could in an attempt to get away from Kaiba. Though this could have something to do with the _way _Kaiba was looking at him. His arms were folded and he was smirking in a predatory sort of way. In short, Joey felt very much like a slab of beef in front of a hungry cheetah.

"Would ya quit starin at me already? It's gettin creepy." Joey snapped, face turning red when he swore he saw the CEO lick his lips in his direction.

"Why? I was under the impression one is supposed to admire their date when out. It's supposed to let you know that my attention is solely on you and not someone else." Kaiba purred back, and Joey felt his eyebrow twitch.

"It's ok, really. Go right ahead."

Kaiba shrugged in a mock regretful manner, "Unfortunately, I doubt there's anyone as beautiful as you out there tonight, so I'm afraid you'll have to put up with my staring. My apologies."

Joey growled, feeling his cheeks heat in embarrassment, "I'm a BOY dammit! I'm not supposed ta be 'beautiful'!"

Kaiba chuckled in amusement, "What adjective would you have me call you then? Because 'handsome' doesn't nearly do you justice."

"I don't care, anything but beautiful!"

Kaiba pretended to think about it, but in truth Joey had just walked, once again, straight into a trap.

"Alright..." Kaiba trailed off, and grinned devilishly and Joey narrowed his eyes in suspicion.

Just as Kaiba leaned across the space between them, the driver had pulled up to the restaurant. Joey leaned back as far as the seat would allow him when he felt Kaiba's breath hit his ear.

"How about 'sexy'?" Kaiba whispered into his ear.

Joey's face enflamed in both anger and embarrassment, but before he could shout at the CEO, Kaiba had reached across and opened the door Joey was leaning so heavily on, so the blond ended up toppling out of the car and onto the curb.

"Ow! Jerk, whatcha do that for?"

Kaiba smirked down at him, "Clumsy puppy, you should have waited for me to open the door for you. After all, that's the proper thing to do for my date."

'He's enjoying this waaay too much.' Joey thought to himself as Kaiba climbed out of the car. He was surprised when Kaiba reached a hand out towards him.

"Come along, pup. Before they give our reservations away."

Scowling at once again being referred to as a dog, Joey did appreciate the gesture of his help. He took hold of Kaiba's hand and was about to push himself to his feet, when Kaiba tugged him up with a bit more force than he was expecting, so he stumbled right into his arms.

He scrambled to free himself, which Kaiba let him do, begrudgingly, his arms slipping from his form after he had caught the blonde.

"Like I said," Kaiba reached out and ruffled Joey's already untidy hair, "clumsy."

Joey grumbled to himself, but Kaiba felt a twinge of victory when he saw the faint traces of a flush on Joey's cheeks.

The Italian restaurant Marie had chosen was indeed very classy, but not overall intimidating for Joey to be in. There were tiny yellow lights in the trees outside the restaurant, and there was a mural of an Italian vineyard on the wall behind the bar. There was, however, the definite smell of French fries Joey was used to when in a restaurant. A guy in a tux (a penguin suit as Joey referred to it) came to seat them, and they followed him all the way to the most secluded area of the restaurant. Their booth even had a curtain they could choose to pull, give them some privacy. Joey knew this because they had passed another booth just like it, and he was sure the silhouettes that were sharing wine and kissing in there were both male.

Joey silently prayed that Kaiba would leave the curtains open.

The waiter didn't waste their time by engaging in small talk, he simply handed them two menus with the promise of coming back later with water and would then take their orders. Kaiba was beginning to like this place even more (he had seen the curtains, maybe not this time, but he planned for other dates as well.)

Joey at first glanced over the menu in glazed fashion, then slowly started flipping through it more urgently, until finally he slapped it down with a glare.

"It's all in Italian!"

"Well, we are in an Italian restaurant mutt." Kaiba responded idly.

"How am I supposed at order what I want if I can't read what they have?"

Kaiba smirked up at him, "Would you like me to translate for you?"

"Yeah." Joey said bluntly.

Kaiba tutted like he was speaking to a small child about manners, and shook his finger at Joey, "Say please pup."

Joey once again felt a tick growing in his eye, but he was hungry, so he took a deep breath and let it out in a haggard sort of way.

"Please."

"Please what?"

Joey gritted his teeth together, temper rising higher and higher, "Please. Kaiba. Translate. The. Damn. Menu."

Kaiba chuckled darkly, and gripped the menu, flipping it open, "Now, that wasn't so hard was it?"

"You have no idea..." Joey mumbled while Kaiba's blue eyes scanned to the menu. The blond soon grew impatient as the man before him still wasn't translating anything.

"Well? What have they got here?"

"I'm not going to read off every item on the menu mutt, we'd be here all night. I'm simply looking for something you'd like and then I'll translate eat to you."

Joey narrowed his eyes, "How would you know it's something I'd like?"

"I make it my business to know." Kaiba answered simply, before Joey could once again retort, the CEO's eyes flickered in recognition and laid the menu out in front of Joey,

"This is a pasta dish served with chicken, bacon and broccoli. It comes with a slice of garlic bread. Does that sound good to you?"

Joey's eyes widened at the mention of bacon (**kisa: its bacon! I'd get it myself but I don't have thumbs!" favorite commercial ever**.)

"Yeah, sounds good."

The waiter came back and took their orders, dropping off some bread and butter and a crystal water pitcher.

Kaiba poured a glass for himself elegantly, while Joey tried to copy but ended up spilling some on the silverware. He cursed under his breath while the CEO snickered at him. Was it possible for the blond to get any cuter?

The brunet also took happiness in the fact that Joey seemed to be looking forward to his meal. He kept sneaking glances towards the kitchen doors for the waiter to come with their food. Since discovering the truth of his home life, Kaiba was no longer surprised why the blond was such a glutton when in the presence of his friends. He didn't have much chance to gorge himself otherwise. Also, it might have been a ploy to lead them away from he truth that he had gone without food for not only an evening, but for a day or two at a time. Depending what he could afford or not.

But Kaiba was going to fix that. He allowed himself a fond smile as the plate of steaming pasta was set before the blond, and those brown eyes widened in excitement.

Seto thanked the waiter when his lasagna was set in front of him, and delicately plunged his fork into one of the pieces of pasta and cheese. Joey stabbed a piece of chicken and twirled his fork to pick up the noodles. Clearly he hadn't been taught that you also needed to use a spoon to keep the pasta form falling off the fork, because as he lifted it to his mouth, the creamy pasta dribbled onto his chin. Joey sucked it up like a worm though, and it ended up in his mouth with a cute little 'pop.'

Kaiba found his meal increasingly less interesting and opted to watch Joey eat, the creamy Alfredo sauce dripping down his chin and onto his lap thankfully covered by a napkin. Marie had coached her pupil well.

Kaiba chuckled; he couldn't help himself. Grabbing his own napkin, he reached across and wiped the blond's mouth clean before he had a chance to take another bite.

Joey's head twisted in an attempt to escape the napkin, and his hand soon took hold of Kaiba's to stop him, "I'm not a baby Kaiba, I can do that myself."

"Why didn't you then?"

"...I was getting to it!" Joey snapped, knowing it was a lie. He hadn't even noticed the sauce was on his face.

After teaching Joey the proper way to eat pasta, they continued to eat their meals in silence. Kaiba gazing intently across at Joey, while Joey looked up nervously ever so often, only to look back down quickly when their eyes met.

Finally came desert, and Kaiba once again translated the chocolate cake for Joey, and ordered the tiramisu for himself. Kaiba could actually see drool adhering at the corner of the pups mouth when the cake was presented to him.

Suddenly, Kaiba was struck with an idea. He spooned a bite of the tiramisu, and waited for Joey's mouth to be empty.

"Is it any good?"

Joey swallowed his first bite. The chocolate tasted silky against his tongue, but wasn't so sickenly sweet that the cake would become a chore to eat. Each bite was a dream.

"Yeah, real good."

Kaiba's eyes flickered with mischief and he lifted his spoon in offering, "Would you like to try a bite of mine?"

Joey glanced at Kaiba's plate, he had never tried tiramisu, but it looked really good. Real creamy, like a trifle of some sort. And he liked trifle.

He shrugged and reached for the offered spoon, but Kaiba pulled it out of the way,

"Ah ah, silly pups like you would probably forget to return my spoon. I'm going to feed it to you."

Joeys face once again flushed in embarrassment, and he looked away with a huff, "Forget it then!"

Kaiba shook his head, "Mm-mm, remember the bet mutt? You have to do what I say when it comes to things like this. Now open up and say 'ah'."

Joey looked incredibly uncomfortable, his face red, and fervently glancing around to make sure no one was looking. Kaiba smirked, and waved the spoon at him in a way that said 'come on.'

Joey, reluctantly, leaned forward and opened his mouth a tiny bit, closing his eyes because he couldn't take looking at the CEO's smug face right now.

Kaiba gripped the blond's chin between his thumb and forefinger gently, and tilted the chin so his mouth was open just a little more. He could just catch a glimpse of the blond's pink tongue, waiting patiently for the treat. He smirked, and pushed the spoon into Joey's mouth, and pulling it out slowly, sensually.

Joey could feel the sweet and creamy texture of the tiramisu drop onto his tongue. He could smell and taste the rum used to make it, yet it wasn't unpleasant, like when his father would smell of it after drinking too much of it. It smelled sweet, warm.

He let his tongue swim in all the wonderful tastes for a moment, before swallowing, (the cake was so creamy, so it didn't really need chewing.)

He opened his eyes to see Kaiba eyeing him, chin resting in his hand, "Good pup?"

Joey blushed and looked towards the wall, "Suppose..."

All too soon the waiter came for the bill, and Seto felt a twinge of regret as his first date with Joey came to an end. He vowed silently, however as they walked towards the waiting limo, that it would not be the last.

It was quiet all the way until they both had arrived at the front door, ready to walk through and go about their normal lives (er, somewhat normal lives) when Kaiba reached out to stop Joey from pulling the door open.

"What now?" Joey asked, though not as irritably as he once would.

Kaiba smirked, "There's one last part of our date that we haven't fulfilled yet, puppy."

Joey quirked an eyebrow, "And what's that?"

Looking smug and just a little bit excited, Kaiba wrapped an arm around Joey's waist and pulled him closer, "a goodnight kiss."

Alarmed by how much blood was rushing up to his head so far tonight, Joey made a noise of protest and immediately started pushing against Kaiba to get away.

"Whoa whoa whoa! That wasn't in the plan! Haven't ya ever heard the phrase 'not till the second date?"

Kaiba wasn't about to let him get out of this that easily, "In case you forgot mutt, I only have one month to get you to fall for me. There's already so much I want to do and show you, a kiss is hardly a lot to ask for."

Joey was looking uncomfortable and nervous again, "But-I-you!"

"Joey..." Kaiba trailed off, placing a hand to the side of the blond's face to gain his full attention, "Please."

Joey froze... what? Did that really happen? Did the great Seto fucking Kaiba just say 'please'? To him?

Seeing his puppy's struggles cease for the moment, he continued, "Please. Just go with it, just for this month. You can complain as much as you want of course. But for now...just..."

His arm tightened around Joey's waist, bringing him closer and closer as he leaned in. Joey's heart was going a million miles a minute out of panic. What should he do? Punch rich boy in the face, even after such a sincere sounding plea? And he had agreed to both Kaiba and Mokuba now that he would give this a try. But...but...

Before he could contemplate it any more, Kaiba's lips brushed against his, and it felt like electricity shot down his spine. It wasn't exactly a pleasant feeling, but definitely not an unpleasant one.

His eyes closed in a way to cope with the overwhelming onslaught of emotions, when Kaiba finally placed his lips fully over Joey's.

There was no tongue or anything like that, it was innocent, chaste. As a first kiss should be. Kaiba was in heaven. Joeys' lips were as soft as he'd imagined them, and he could taste the faintest remnants of chocolate from his desert earlier that night. He turned his head to the side slightly to deepen the kiss.

Joey's stomach was in knots. His arms hung limply by his sides, and his lips didn't move back against Kaiba's. It was his first kiss! He didn't know what he was doing! Unlike the stories say, his mind was not blown away; in fact, his mind was working harder than it had in years. A million thoughts crossed his mind, yet he didn't remember any of them. The feel of Kaiba's warm body pressed against his lips moving sensually against his own; it wasn't a bad feeling. But his stomach still flipped out of nerves; did that mean he wasn't enjoying it? Or did it mean he did? His head was beginning to hurt, and his fists clenched.

He was afraid, yet he didn't really want to move away.

All too soon, Kaiba had to pull back as he doubted his puppy had thought so far ahead to breathe through his nose while kissing. Joey gasped for air, face red and eyes wide.

"Was that your first kiss pup?"Kaiba asked out of curiosity, softly caressing the side of the blond's face.

Joey looked down, grabbing Kaiba's hand and pulling it away, "So what if it was?"

Kaiba took the boys chin in his hand and tilted it upwards, "I'm honored."

Joey didn't know what to think anymore, the CEO's blue eyes didn't look cold or icy as they usually did right now, they looked sincere, loving. Like they'd be willing to do anything for him.

He wasn't used to that. He didn't know how to respond to that. It frightened him; he didn't know what to do.

Without sparing another word, the blond boy opened the door and ran up the stairs to his room, leaving a somewhat put out Marie, who was waiting to hear all about the date.

As Mokuba came trotting from the video game room to greet him, Seto let his eyes follow Joey as he ran.

"There is no 'will be' no 'should be,' Joey, you are mine. No two ways about it," he murmured to himself, "And I plan to show you that in every way I can..."

/

Joey slammed his bedroom door closed and slid against it, cradling his head in his hands and his knees coming up to meet his chest,

What was happening? Why was his heart beating this fast over one little kiss with Kaiba? This wasn't supposed to happen. He had always been so strong, yet this one man could make him feel so vulnerable. Where he came from, no one could survive with that type of feeling, it was dangerous. His entire life was changing and he wasn't ready. He was scared.

Despite the small part of his mind that had actually enjoyed the kiss, his panic drowned out its voice.

"That's it." He mumbled to himself, fists clenched, "I can't take any more of this, I gotta get outta here..."

**Yay! they kissed! But looks like we'll have a chase scene coming up.**

**Kisa: it also looks like my smut isn't far off either,**

**Me: run Joey run!**

**Kisa...(stares incredulously)**

**Me: (fidgets) what? i love a good chase scene...**

**Kaiba: please read and review, the sooner Meghan writes, the sooner I catch that naughty puppy.**


	12. The Great Escape Fail

**Oh boy oh boy! It's the chase scene! ^^**

**Kisa: in case you didn****'****t notice, Meghan digs the chase scenes**

**Meghan: there****'****s just something so much fun about them, thrilling in a way, hee!**

**Kisa: (stares)**

**Meghan(coughs) anyways, please enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh**

Joey wasn't normally a man with a plan. He was usually a man who got his ass moving first and asked questions later, provided he was either caught AGAIN or if he had escaped. However, that was way back when he was in a gang, where he knew the turf he was on. The correct turns to take.

However, this was the Kaiba mansion. And sometimes, if tired enough, he would STILL get lost on the way to the kitchen.

No, he had to think about how he would make his escape carefully, because if he was caught, he had no doubt in his mind Kaiba would not take his eyes off him for even a second until the month was over. And with how confused Joey was when it came to Kaiba, he really didn't want that to happen.

That, and Kaiba would be pissed, REAL pissed.

'Yeah, well, since when was pissing off that bastard a bad thing? The more it bothered him the more likely he'll leave me alone right?' Joey thought to himself defiantly as he lay awake in bed.

His plan in a nut shell was to leave in the night. Climbing out his window would not only be dangerous, but also a good way to get caught. (After all, it's pretty obvious you're running away if you're climbing down with linked bed sheets.) No, he wanted to make his escape as inconspicuous as possible up until the last second. In case Kaiba had given the security guards orders to not let Joey out without his permission, Joey would walk through the first level of the house and find a window far enough away form not only the security post, but Kaiba's room. From there he'd run. He probably couldn't go back to his house at this point, pops would kill him. And going to Yugi or Tristan's was out of the question as that would be the first place Kaiba would look.

He'd have to get to the train station, wait for the earliest one, and ride that the farthest it would go with what he had for money. He'd hide out for a while, camp mostly until things died down, then try to contact Yugi in a few weeks.

It would be rough, but right now Joey wasn't going to think about that. All he cared about was getting away someplace Kaiba couldn't find him, couldn't make him feel all this...whatever it was.

This was the hardest part of the plan, waiting for everyone to be asleep (or at least concentrating on work cough cough Kaiba cough cough). The sheets weren't as comforting as they had been before. Instead they felt constricting, wrapping around his legs and body as if Kaiba could posses even them and keep him from leaving. His muscles were jittery, they way they always got when he knew he would need to run fast very soon. The adrenaline was working its way into his system, which was good. And the adrenaline rush was just what he needed to get out of Kaiba's clutches for good.

To keep suspicion low, he decided the best way to get out was to travel light. That meant it was just him, the clothes on his back, and a few essential things kept in his pockets. Such as a pocket knife Tristan had given him for his fifteenth birthday, a picture of Serenity in his wallet, with a few twenties left over from his many part time jobs. Finally, his deck was tucked safely away in a special holder Yugi had gotten him. It clipped right onto his belt. Subconsciously, he placed his hand over it, hoping that the heart of the cards would give him the last bit of courage he needed to run.

He kicked off the blankets resolutely, and though they still clung to him in a last ditch attempt to coax him into staying, he eventually got them off and swung his feet off the bed. He pulled on his jacket, pulling up the collar to shield him from the chilly night air once he got out. His heart was beating hard against his rib cage, and his stomach was in knots. Unlike when Kaiba had kissed him, these knots weren't pleasant at all.

Joey shook his head and slapped his cheek gently to wake himself up, 'Stop that Wheeler!'

Ignoring the nerves, Joey took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. Fists clenched determinedly, he walked out of the bedroom door, hoping, yet also in a strange way sad, that this would be the last time he would see it.

/

Despite everyone supposedly being asleep, the halls were dimly lit, another hindrance. This made Joey's job of sneaking out unnoticed even harder, and he tried hard to stay close to the wall, approaching corners cautiously and listening for footsteps.

Finally, Joey made it to the stairs, not the ones by the front entrance obviously, but the ones the servants usually used. He took them two at a time until finally hopping down the last three in an effort to save time and crept further down the hallway. He craned his neck around a corner to check and see if the security guard at the front was paying attention.

The guard was awake, barely, and gazing at the security footage. However, with how glazed over his eyes looked, Joey doubted he was actually seeing anything on it.

'Poor guy,' Joey thought guiltily. After all, Kaiba would probably blame his escape on whoever was watching the footage.

He didn't have time to feel for the guard much more, though, he needed to get out of here before someone, if anyone noticed he was out of bed.

It was too bad someone already had.

You see, Kaiba could in some ways be called paranoid (Kisa: noo, he's the most trusting person I know (-.-),) so not only was the security guard watching the footage, but so was he. He had been diligently working on a few files for Kaiba Corp., when a telltale flash of gold on the screen caught his eye. Sure enough, there was his puppy. Walking cautiously through the halls. Immediately Kaiba's curiosity was peaked.

'What is he doing?' Kaiba thought to himself. The blond boy was tense, he could see it in the way he walked and the way his shoulders were held stiff. He couldn't be using the bathroom, because there was one attached to his room

'He'd better not be midnight snacking...' he thought grumpily, leaning on his hand to watch his puppy skirt down the servants' stairs, taking a final leap down them that made Kaiba grit his teeth in frustration, 'he could have HURT himself, the dumbass!'

His eyes narrowed however, as Joey got closer and closer towards the front door. No... no he couldn't have been trying to leave, there were no giveaways that he was, at least not yet. No back pack, no provisions. He felt a small glimmer of relief when Joey crept past the front door and into the living room, where the lights were off. Kaiba had to rely on the lamp light from outside to even see the pup anymore.

The small amount of relief was put out immediacy, when he saw Joey feel around the window frame for a moment, trying to work at the lock,.

He WAS trying to run!

Kaiba's hand plunged under his desk to press the panic button that had been installed there, and instantly the entire mansion was filled with pandemonium. Kaiba didn't bother to watch his pup's reaction, which was jump in surprise before pulling at the window more desperately, Kaiba had already run out of his office and was sprinting towards the stairs to catch him.

Joey had just managed to get the window open when he heard thumping in the distance.

'Quickly, QUICKLY' his subconscious had just enough time to think before he pried the window open and threw himself through it onto the grass.

He barely heard Kaiba call 'Joey!' angrily before he had scrambled to his feet and took off at a run.

He was in the middle of hopping the fence at the end of the long driveway when the security dogs started barking, and security began swarming the grounds, guns up and looking for the intruder. Joey had been too quick for them to see; he was already down the street when Kaiba had wormed his way through the crowd of security men. He saw just one more brief flash of blond hair before the pup disappeared around a street corner.

"Find him! NOW!" Kaiba commanded, and every employee hastened to obey. The brunet looked beyond furious, and they wanted to stay on his good side as much as possible.

Some of the security hopped on their motorcycles, others searched the grounds for clues as to where Joey could have gone, and finally, one with sense, brought Kaiba his Mercedes so he could look for his pup himself.

The guard was rewarded with a nod and a cold stare instead of the glare everyone else had gotten, before the young CEO swung himself into the driver's seat, and tore out into the night.

/

"Not good," Joey grunted, pushing his legs to run faster as he heard the motorcycle engines blare in the streets. He had no doubts they were looking for him. He managed to duck and roll out of the way when one had slowed down enough to swipe a hand out to grab him before swinging himself into an alley. The guard let him go, opting instead to pull out a cell phone no doubt to update Kaiba on his whereabouts. Joey turned down as many alleyways as he could, knocking trashcans behind him to create obstacles so no one with wheels could follow.

All those years of running from enemy gangs were coming in handy, he knew all the tricks, knew all the places to hide.

He hadn't been counting on the guard placing a chip on him in his attempt to catch him.

Kaiba had soon caught up with the guard, and followed the trail of tipped trash cans the mutt had left for him in this labyrinth. He ran until he heard the clattering of a chain link fence. Kaiba checked the radar he had on Joey. He smirked, the pup was heading straight for a dead end without even knowing it

'Checkmate.'

Joey felt his heart leap into his throat when he heard footsteps running after him just a short distance away.

'No way, there's no way he could have found me already!' Joey thought desperately, turning corner after corner, oblivious that Kaiba had been herding him right into a trap. Lungs burning with exhaustion, Joey swung himself on the corner to turn one last corner, only to feel the heart in his throat drop right down into his stomach.

A dead end. He was screwed.

He knew at the back of his mind that it was useless, but he still clawed at the wall, searching for a purchase with which he could climb it. Nothing, just regular brick. The footsteps behind him had slowed condescendingly, knowing he was trapped like a rat in a maze. They were teasing him. His hands shook slightly as the silhouette of the one that caught him finally turned the corner.

He repressed the urge to scream when he saw Kaiba standing there. His blue eyes were glinting dangerously in the night, but he had a terrible smirk on his face.

"And just where do you think you're running to, mutt?" he asked darkly, approaching the trapped Joey slowly, trying to make himself as intimidating and predatory as possible.

Joey was breathing hard from all the previous running, and his eyes were wide with panic.

"G-get away from me!" he shouted when Kaiba moved to grab him, attempting to duck under the arm like he had the security guard and run out into the alley again. Kaiba however caught his wrist with ease and pulled him right back, twisting his arm back painfully to keep him in place.

"I'd advise you to cooperate, Wheeler," Kaiba growled, "you're in enough trouble as it is."

Joey growled, struggling franticly against Kaiba's grip, trying to kick at the other boy's shins, before Kaiba hooked an arm around his waist and hoisted him over his shoulder like it was nothing.

"Put me down! Put me down right now you goddamn bastard!" Joey screamed pounding as hard as he could on Kaiba's back, trying to kick him in the ribs; he even tried to roll off of his shoulder. Kaiba reached up to press his arm almost painfully hard down on Wheeler's back, so he could no longer gain enough leverage to do any damage. He yelled profanities and threats, all of which Kaiba ignored as he worked his way out of the labyrinth and back to the opening, where the Mercedes was waiting along with four security guards, to make sure there was no possible way for a second escape.

Someone opened one of the back doors for Kaiba, and the CEO shoved the blond in roughly, to which the blond yelped. He handed the keys wordlessly to one of the security guards to drive as he had his hands full keep the blond still in the back seat as he tried to rip the door handle off.

"You can't do this to me! You can't make me stay with you!" Joey shouted trying and failing time and again to punch the brunet.

Furiously, Kaiba grabbed the blond by the hair, "I can, and I will. Now sit and _shut up_," he hissed as Joey continued to struggle in his arms.

This continued all the way back to the mansion and into the doorway. Kaiba had Joey draped once again over his shoulder, cold eyes determined as he made a beeline for the stair case.

Mokuba and Marie stood by the stairwell. Marie seemed solemn for once, as if she had been expecting this. Mokuba however, was glancing between her and his brother anxiously, nearly in tears as he heard Joey begging for Kaiba to let him go. He was torn between worrying for his friend and worrying for his brother, and what exactly his actions would be now.

"Marie I don't understand, is Joey okay? What happened?"

Marie glanced at him, the poor kid had been fast asleep when this had all happened, and his eyes were still red with fatigue. She pulled him into a hug and she could feel him shuddering as he cried.

"It's alright," she whispered, rubbing soothing circles into his back, "This has been coming for a while, it's the turning point in the game, that's all." She shushed him as he sniffled, "come on now, and let's have a sleepover in the videogame room okay? Let's let your brother handle this one."

Mokuba nodded, and walked off to get the necessary blankets for said sleep over. Marie cast a look up the stairs where Kaiba had long disappeared with Joey in tow.

"This is a crucial part of the game master Kaiba," she murmured quietly, "don't hesitate, or you'll lose him."

/

Kaiba was growing weary of Joey's pathetic attempts to escape his hold; he finally spotted his goal just ahead and turned the knob to the room Joey hadn't been allowed in previously.

Kaiba's bedroom.

Joey twisted as much as he could in his position. His insides were raw with fear. As it was, seeing the approaching bed only made it worse.

Kaiba was alarmed when he heard a dry sob escape the blond on his shoulder, and he was that close to putting him down and hugging him, apologizing for scaring him so much. But he was too furious to listen to this urge even if it would be the right thing to do. He was going to teach his puppy a lesson. He was going to show him he loved him and the best place to be was with him. If he had to cause a little discomfort to do that, well, so be it.

He flung the blond onto the bed and immediately straddled him. Joey squirmed and flailed, frightened noises escaping his mouth, but there were still no tears. Though that could be because his eyes were squeezed shut.

'I wont cry,' Joey thought furiously, 'he'll never make me cry no matter what he does!'

Ignoring the blond's fear with difficulty, Kaiba placed all his weight of the blond's hips to keep him in place and pinned his wrists to either side of his head.

"Look at me," he commanded, voice still hardened with anger.

"Go fuck yourself," Joey hissed vehemently, head turned to one side in pure defiance.

Transferring both wrists to just one hand and holding them above the blond's head, Kaiba used his other hand to turn Joey's head towards him harshly, "I said **look** at me, mutt!"

Kaiba got his wish. Joey opened his eyes and glared at him, honey colored eyes burning with hate. A bitter grin worked its way onto the blond duelist's face.

"You're going to rape me now aren't ya?" Joey whispered in a black rage. "I broke the deal."

Kaiba felt another spike of rage shoot through him. After everything that happened, Joey still thought he would rape him at the drop of a hat?

"Yes. You did." Kaiba ground out, "and I'm sure a weaker man would give into his urges like you obviously expect me to."

Joey could feel the angry ice blue eyes piercing through him, stabbing at his heart in their fury. It was hard not to shrink back and turn away, but Joey Wheeler was no coward.

Kaiba kept a firm grip on Joey's head so he was looking straight at him, when he leaned down, so close that their noses almost touching.

"Why can't you understand how much I love you?" Kaiba scowled as he said this, and the blond's eyes remained unbelieving. Joey hated this? What could he do to make Joey listen?

Unable to think of anything else to do, Kaiba crushed his lips to Joey's in their second kiss.

He could feel Joey trying to throw him off underneath him, but he was bigger and stronger than Joey (not by much) and he kept him in place as he moved his lips against his in the most passionate kiss he could, the anger he felt seemed to fuel it like kindling to a fire.

Joey felt his fears double; it was like all the feelings Kaiba felt for him were melting into one explosion of passion. He felt the confusion he had when they shared the first kiss, his head spinning. It was like he was thinking a million things at once, yet somehow they were in someone else's head, and he was just a spectator. He actually jumped when he felt Kaiba's tongue run across his bottom lip, asking politely just once for entrance. Joey, of course, just pressed his lips together and refused.

Kaiba growled, and squeezed the blond's wrists until it was almost painful. Joey's mouth opened of its own accord to utter a gasp, before Kaiba plunged his tongue in.

Joey squirmed when he felt the warm muscle explore his mouth. His mind seemed to go into overload, until shutting down almost completely. The fight left his body, and he could only lay there, unable to cope with this feeling of pleasure. He had never felt anything like this. It was like his mind and his body were two completely separate entities, the body grounded in one place while the mind seemed to fly around the room, unsure where to go or what to do. The only thing he could do now was let Kaiba completely overwhelm him.

Kaiba could feel Joey go limp, and he resisted the urge to smirk. Even though the blond hadn't said anything, it was flattering to know that his kiss could leave the blond completely helpless.

Slowly, Kaiba ended the kiss, pulling his lips off the blonds in a sensual way, letting go of the blond's wrists with care. Joey gasped for breath, brown eyes glazed but still angry. So not all of the fight had left him. Still, he couldn't quite find the strength to move his arms even if they were free now.

Kaiba sat up to look down at him in triumph. The blond duelist honestly had no idea how sexy he looked like that. Cheeks flushed and eyes still angry yet unmistakably glazed over.

"You don't know what you do to me, Wheeler," Kaiba whispered, "Shall I tell you?"

"Don't," Joey said hoarsely.

"Too bad," Kaiba answered, glaring down at him, "Because I'm going to. It's the only way I can get your thick skull to understand."

Joey growled and felt his insides jolt when Kaiba kissed him once again to quiet him. Take enough of the fight away so that once again all he could do was lay there trapped and listen.

"I've tried to be polite, based on who was around and where we were, I wanted to tell you exactly what I would do for you, and to you when we were at the restaurant. But I kept quiet because I knew it would embarrass you,"

He leaned down to whisper in Joey's ear, "But look where we are now. I've got you all to myself in a bedroom. The perfect place wouldn't you agree?"

Joey gave a brief shake of his head in defiance, and Kaiba chuckled.

"Joey, I love you. I don't care what I have to do to make you see that, but you WILL see it. I'm going to make you love me too... do you know how I'm going to do that?"

Kaiba continued before Joey could answer, "By making you feel pleasure. By kissing you, touching you," he let his knuckles brush against the blond's cheek, "You've never felt the pleasure of someone touching you, have you, pup? Not really, and no, the occasional hug between you and the geek squad doesn't count."

Joey started trembling in what Kaiba knew was fear, but he continued, knowing if he didn't he'd never get the message across to Joey, "But I'm going to change that. I'm going to teach you what it means to feel pleasure. Through speech-" Kaiba started to kiss him passionately, "Through taste," and again, "through sight," and again, "And most importantly, through touch."

Joey mewled, to his embarrassment, when Kaiba's tongue dragged lazily up his neck. He was shaking so bad he was afraid he'd never stop. Kaiba was right, he had never been treated like this before, but that had been fine with him. He had been raised to respond bravely to pain, to hurtful words. Those couldn't bother him now. But feeling the other man's passion, his lust for him, he didn't know what to do. It scared him; he didn't know how to escape, to get back on his feet. It was the same feeling that made him leave in the first place.

Because no one had been there to teach him how to respond.

Joey squeezed his eyes shut to keep the tears from falling, 'I won't cry' he chanted to himself, even if he was so scared in that moment all he wanted to do was curl up and cry.

'My god,' Kaiba thought to himself, 'this honestly terrifies him...'

Kaiba could see it written in his face. This was the breaking point, where he needed to show the blond that even if he was afraid, that he would help him through it. That was what it felt like to fall in love, it was scary.

The point that made it wonderful is that they got to go through it together.

"Shh," Kaiba gently ran his thumbs over the blond's cheek bones, trying to take the tension that marred that beautiful face away, "It's alright Joey, I promise you everything will be alright."

'I... I don't want this..." Joey finally said shakily, "You're changing everything, what am I supposed to do if you change everything?"

Kaiba smiled tenderly at him, which shocked Joey enough for him not to move when Kaiba kissed him once more, a lot gentler than he had been.

"What you do is trust me. You let me teach you, love you, take care of you. That's all I've ever wanted, Joey. Except, maybe... I want you to love me too."

Joey looked at him, still dazed from all those kisses, but his eyes didn't look as hard as before. They weren't shutting him out anymore; he was finally listening to him. He definitely looked uncomfortable and flustered, though, but the fear had definitely died down to a tolerable level.

Kaiba leant down to nuzzle the blond's neck affectionately, "Can you do that pup? Not for me, but for yourself?"

Joey looked undecided, and hesitant, but after a few moments, Kaiba felt a hand shakily reach to push Kaiba's face to where he could see it.

Kaiba let him, waiting patiently for the blond's next move.

Joey, using what little strength he could muster after such an onslaught of emotion, pushed himself forward, and touched his lips gently to Kaiba's.

It was an experimental kiss, hesitant, but full of potential. Joey didn't love him yet, but he was finally willing to try.

Kaiba responded immediately, but he held back as much as he could so he wouldn't frighten the blond away again. They simply moved their lips against each other's for a few minutes, before Joey laid back and covered his face with his hands and groaned.

"I must be out of my mind..." Joey's voice said tiredly, somewhat muffled.

Kaiba chuckled, pulling the hands away to gaze at the boy he loved.

"No more hiding, puppy," he said quietly, and though he was scowling, Joey finally nodded.

"No more hiding."

Kaiba finally rolled off of the blond's hips to lay beside him on the bed, but when Joey tried to get up to return to his own room, hooked and arm around his waist and pulled him against his chest.

"I want you to sleep with me from now on pup. I can't have you running off again now can I?"

Joey glared at the wall, since he was unable to glare at Kaiba the way he was laying. But he nonetheless relaxed in the others possessive hold.

"Fine."

Not sure if he could ever feel happier than he did in that moment, Kaiba hugged Joey closer, burying his face in the blond locks and enjoying the feel of the younger boy's body melding perfectly to his.

This game of tug of war was finally turning in his favor.

**Kisa: WHOO! First make out fest AND spooning! **

**Me: you have no idea how exhausting that was. but I still think this is my favorite chapter so far.**

**Kaiba: mine too **

**Joey: (blush) shut it.**


End file.
